I am Rose?
by Mrs. Trickster Queen
Summary: Okay, basically, what I wish would happen to me. Three friends get sucked into Titanic, and the youngest gets put into the role of Rose. She doesn't take it seriously, and dire consequences occur... rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first FanFiction, and I'm having so much fun writing! Please review and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do no own this movie or any characters but Rosie, Beth, and Cass. And any others that are not in this movie. Unfortunately, this means I do not own Jack. Sniff. **

Beth's POV

Me, my younger sister Cassidy, and my best friend Rosie were sitting on the floor, eating cereal that we had retrieved from the cupboards and talking, just generally enjoying our sleepover. Rosie and I were fifteen and Cass was fourteen, and we all had one thing in common- we loved movies. Our taste in movies was not that different, but that night we all wanted to watch a different movie.

"We should so watch 'Pirates of the Caribbean,'" Rosie insisted. Rosie was really named Rosaline, but she pretty much hated that name. Her great grandma was named that, which gave Rosie bad associations, and Rosie looked much more like a Rosie then a Rosaline anyway. Her curly brown hair, her knowledgeable green eyes, and her cocky grin gave all who met the girl a sense that if they stuck around, their lives would be somewhat eventful.

"No," Cass groaned, flipping her fiery, wavy hair over her shoulder. "I've seen that way too many times. We all love 'Titanic,' let's watch that." She was an avid Leonardo Dicaprio fan, and knew way too much about him in my opinion. We all enjoyed that movie most of the time, but neither Rosie or I really wanted to watch Cass giggle about Dicaprio almost the whole movie, then cry uncontrollably the rest of the time right now.

"I want to watch 'My Sister's Keeper,'" I countered. Rosie made a face. Cass frowned, and I rolled my eyes. "Come on, you know it's not fair that you two always pick the movie." I looked nothing like my sister. I had brown eyes, not unreadable blue-grey ones, and smooth black hair that I kept very short. She was tall for her age, and I was shorter, and more robust then her nearly anorexic skinniness. My skin also tanned, while my sister was almost translucent and simply burned.

Cass looked at me first, then Rosie. "I think we should rocks paper scissors for this. Whoever gets the odd one out gets to choose the movie, okay?" Slowly, I nodded. It couldn't hurt. Rosie put her fist in the center. I did too, and Cass followed.

"Rocks, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" We all put out our choice. I had chosen scissors. Rosie had too. Cass had chosen rocks.

"Figures," I grumbled as Rosie growled in disappointment and Cass leapt up, squealing, to get the DVD. We curled up on the couch as my sister popped in the movie and hit play.

Suddenly, a popping noise filled my ears, and my vision swam. I squeezed my eyes shut until the sensation stopped. Slowly, I opened my eyes.

A busy dock surrounded me, with people in rags, people in exquisite finery, and people in just normal, if a bit rough looking, clothes. A giant ship was in front of me, with people boarding it. The scene was very old-fashioned and familiar in some way.

"It doesn't look that big," said an insolent voice behind me. I whipped around and saw my sister stepping out of a fancy horse-drawn carriage, helped out by a handsome man in a suit. Annoyed, he replied with something I couldn't hear.

Concerned, I started towards her, and realized that a piece of paper was clutched in my hand. Puzzled, I looked down at it. 'First-class Titanic,' it read. Gasping, I recognized the scene.

We were in the movie 'Titanic.'

Worse, my sister was Rose.

Cass's POV

I grinned to myself, adjusting my blue skirt and smoothing it out. I had recognized where I was almost instantly, and almost as fast, who I was. Rose! This meant I would be meeting Jack very soon, and then… well, I knew what happened in the movie. I wasn't thrilled about a few of my parts, but all else I was ecstatic about.

"Your daughter is much too hard to impress, Ruth," Cal was saying as I surreptitiously scanned the crowd for Rosie and Beth. Ruth said something that I didn't quite process as I caught the eye of my sister. 'Meet you on deck,' I mouthed. Looking very unhappy, she nodded, then disappeared into the crowd as I allowed Cal to guide me up to the deck of the ship. It really was a magnificent ship.

The suite I- er, Rose would be staying in was as luxurious as the movie portrayed it. Velvet-lined chairs, a solid-wood drawer set, it was all beautiful, even more so as I saw the art going up on the wall. Cal walked in, and I thought I knew what he was going to say before the words came out of his mouth.

Cal said different words, however. They were to the same effect as the movie script, but the change unsettled me: "What, you brought those finger paintings along, Rose?"

"Cal and I have a bit of a different opinion on art," I explained to a maid working beside me to hang the paintings.

Once that was done, I made my way out to the deck, where I found Beth and Rosie waiting by the rail. As I made my way over to them, I felt the ship shudder and begin to move. Jack had boarded, I thought, and grinned to myself. Events had been set into motion.

"Cass, what are you doing?" Beth hissed as I reached them. "Do you know what happened?"

"We're in the movie, on the Titanic, and I am Rose, the main character," I replied dryly. Rosie snickered, and I grinned at her. Then I cast an eye over Rosie's brown dress. "Don't tell me you're third class," I groaned, motioning to her outfit. Rosie grimaced.

"Yeah, I know. It's not right. Like, you and your sister get to be first class and I'm stuck with the rats!" she complained. Beth made a noise, and I raised an eyebrow at her. She had turned a little green. Shaking my head, I remembered why we had never been on a ferry- Beth got seasick. Rosie, evidently realizing the same thing, guffawed loudly. I shushed her.

"Rose, you have to remember the rules of this time period," I hissed. "You shouldn't be up here; it's the first class deck. You should probably leave, actually- it's gonna look suspicious."

"Wait!" Beth cried. "We have to keep in touch. And what are we gonna do?"

"I'll meet you on the deck tomorrow night, right before I run past Jack to commit suicide," I replied airily. "And we're just going to play along."

"That's another thing," Beth argued as Rosie left. "You are fourteen, Cass- not ready for everything Rose does in this movie." I made a face as she continued. "You can't be serious about playing along. You aren't a seventeen year old in the eighteen hundreds, Cass. You can't… do those things."

"As far as I am concerned, I have nothing to worry about," I flushed angrily. "I'll figure the car scene out when I come to it. The thing you need to remember though is that as far as I'm concerned, I am seventeen now. It's like we're acting, Beth. This isn't our real life. Hell, we can do anything we want!"

Beth shook her head. "No, Cass, it's not right, you aren't mature enough…"

"Rose is in love with jack. As I am Rose, I am in love with Jack. And you know what? I'm done arguing about this." Before Beth could protest, I slipped away to look out on the third-class deck, hoping to spot Jack.

I leaned on the rail and looked out at the crowd below. It stunned me how many people were aboard this ship- a massive amount. Then my eye caught Jack's, and I raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare up at me. Insolently and arrogantly, I looked away.

Inside, I was screaming with joy. Jack had been staring at me. And he looked exactly like Leonardo Dicaprio.

Beth's POV

My sister did not understand what she was doing. She was fourteen, barely old enough to be in high school. Plus, another danger waited. She may think this was a grand old adventure, but I had thought ahead, and what I remembered scared me. The Titanic sank, and we had been trapped on it. Rose survived, but I had no idea if my character did or not. I also had no idea what would happen to us if we died. Would we go back to the 21st century? Would we stay dead forever? And what would happen to Cass? If she didn't die, would she just continue to live Rose's life, marry, and become old Rose? Would she never see her family again? Or would she return to modern times when the movie ended?

My suite was very nice. It had a comfy feather bed, which I mad use of instantly, flopping down inelegantly. I was suddenly aware of how impossible it was to breathe in the cursed corsets women were forced into in the eighteen hundreds, and called a maid over.

"Can you, um, help me with my dress?" I stumbled uneasily over my words, not at all comfortable with ordering another woman around. Thankfully, the girl took no offense (actually, she was probably used to it by that point, since she had been employed by my character before I was thrown into the movie) and came into the room.

"Would you like to change for dinner, ma'am?" she asked politely, and I recognized a prominent Irish accent. I shook my head, not feeling very hungry at the moment. Actually, I was still seasick.

"No, I don't feel very well right now. Can you just… help me into my nightgown?" The maid nodded, and helped me quickly out of my garments. With the corset off and the light nightgown off, I felt slightly less sick, and when I climbed into bed, I felt a lot more relaxed. Maybe when I fell asleep, I would be able to go home.

"Wake me up when dinner is over," I told the maid, remembering the meeting I had promised Cass before I drifted off.

Cass's POV

I was beginning to hate my life as a little rich girl, and I had only been on the ship for two days.

First, I was never alone. Cal, or a maid, or my mother, or other rich people were always there. Secondly, I could barely breathe in my corset. I was skinny enough- couldn't they leave the thing off? It made me look like a toothpick. Thirdly, I hated how Cal was so possessive. He was always reminding me or other people that we were engaged. At first, I had thought it sweet, like he was really excited; but now, I just found it annoying, like, shut up already. I get it. You own me! He even ordered for me at lunch. If this is what Rose had endured her whole life, I could see why she had considered throwing herself off the side of the ship.

I got out of dinner early, feigning illness, and met Beth and Rosie on the deck. Beth glared at me, her hand over her stomach. "Looking forward to throwing yourself over the side of the ship?" she grumbled bitterly. I rolled my eyes at her, and turned to Rosie, who was unusually quiet.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She just shook her head and yawned, and I realized how tired she must be. Rosie was a girl who worked her butt off at school and slept a lot. "Go to bed," I said gently. "I'm going soon anyway. I think we should just do our thing, and when we see each other talk a bit anyway." Rosie nodded wearily and walked off slowly. I noticed Beth watching her with concern. "Hey, Beth? I can tell you're tired too. It's okay. I'll be fine. Trust me."

Beth just looked at me, and finally nodded. "Okay, but if I find out anything happened to you…" Her voice held an underlying threat, and I grinned to show I understood. Beth walked away. I breathed in deep and turned to the front of the ship, and began running. I remembered the desperation to leave dinner I had felt and put it into my movement. It cleared my head of any fright I had of hanging over the back of a ship.

Once I got over the rail, however, I froze. The water was churning below me, and I was suddenly very aware that if my hands slipped, I would die. I closed my eyes. A feeling of nausea built slowly in my stomach as the wind cut through my thin shawl.

"Don't do it." A voice behind me startled me, and I almost jumped. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Jack, in his homespun jacket and with a cigarette dangling between his lips, reaching his hand out almost subconsciously.

"Stay back," I cried, my voice trembling. I was afraid of what I would do if he came closer. Shake so hard I fell? "Don't come any closer!"

"Take my hand. I'll pull you in." Jack's face was so earnest, and a whole wave of emotions fell over me. I remembered who I was, and where I was. Thank God I'm a good actress, or I would have fallen into his arms right then.

"No!" I yelled out instead, making sure I looked desperate. "Stay where you are. I mean it. I'll let go." And the Rose inside of me whispered, yes she will. She's desperate. She doesn't want your help.

Jack took his cigarette from between his lips, held it out, and edged closer, miming throwing it over the side of the ship, and edged closer, throwing the butt of the cigarette still smoldering into the black water. Oh yeah, the water. I was hanging off the side of the ship… That's right. Fear suddenly gripped me and I swayed, almost falling. Then I almost fell again when Jack said, "No you won't."

"What do you mean, no I won't?" I wasn't acting now- I was ticked. I hated when people made assumptions about me, even if I was someone else at the moment. "Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do. You don't know me." I realized that the words were Rose's lines, and that they were coming unbidden to my mouth. Oh- that would make things easier.

"You would have done it already," Jack explained, meeting my eyes with his startlingly blue ones. "Now, come on, take my hand." Oh, and I wanted too, so bad, but I remembered how presumptuous and insolent he was, and thought he deserved to worry a bit.

"You're distracting me. Go away," I ordered, and turned to face the water again, wind whipping my red hair back. Usually, I loved being difficult, but it was a little hard to enjoy hanging off the back of the speeding Titanic.

"I can't," Jack sighed, and I looked back at him. Suddenly, I realized I couldn't remember what the movie was like. I knew that I usually could recite the whole thing by memory, but now I couldn't even remember what happened in the next five minutes, let alone at the end. Concern washed through me, but I tried to brush it away. It would make the experience more exciting, like a real romance. Then Jack spoke again, and I regarded him with some annoyance as he persisted, "I'm involved now. If you let go, I'm gonna have to jump in after you."

"Don't be absurd," I brushed off his concern. "You'll be killed!"

Jack shrugged off his jacket and threw it on the deck. "I'm a good swimmer," he retorted, causing me to raise an eyebrow. No one could be that good a swimmer. He began to unlace his left shoe, and I shook my head in disbelief.

"The fall alone would kill you," I protested. When he took off his left shoe and began to unlace his right one, I had to marvel at his nerve. He was just doing this to be annoying, or maybe to convince me to come back onto the ship. Actually, it was probably both.

"It would hurt," Jack replied, sounding a bit regretful. "I'm not saying it wouldn't. To be honest, I'm a lot more concerned about the water being so cold." Crap, I thought. I hate the cold.

"How cold?" I uttered, hoping it would be only a bit chilly.

"Freezing, maybe a couple degrees over." Jack was 100 percent serious, I could tell, and it bugged me. I hated people I didn't like having a point. But maybe he did have one. After all, it was a long way down, and not worth it… Wait. Why was I even considering it? I was only doing this because Rose had to in the movie… didn't she? "Ever been to Wisconsin?" Jack asked, breaking into my thought process.

"Um…" I stalled, kind of confused as to how this was relevant. "No?"

"Well, they have some of the coldest winters around, and I grew up there, near Chippewa Falls. Once when I was a kid, me and my father were ice fishing out on Lake Wissota…" He looked over at me and something about me seemed to register. "Ice fishing is when you chop a hole in the ice-"

"I know what ice fishing is," I snapped. Jack raised an eyebrow and raised his hands in mock surrender, looking slightly shell-shocked. That gave me some satisfaction, I noted with surprise.

"Sorry. Just… you look like kind of an indoor girl." I realized I had a very impractical, fancy dress on, and blushed. "Anyway," he moved on, and I looked down thankfully, "I went through some thin ice and I'm tellin' ya, water that cold… like that water right down there… it hits you like a thousand knives all over your body. You can't breathe, you can't think… at least not about anything but the pain." He sighed and removed his right shoe. "Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in after you. But like I said, I don't have a choice. I guess I'm kinda hopin' you'll come back over the rail and get me off the hook here." Dimly, I realized he was playing the card of if-you-don't-care-about-yourself-can-you-at-least-save-me, but I did realize how stupid I was.

"You're crazy," I tried for the last time, a little feebly. Jack suppressed a grin as he shook his head.

"That's what everybody says. But with all due respect, I'm not the one hanging off the back of the ship." His eyes twinkled as he sidled closer and held out his calloused hand. "Come on. You don't want to do this. Give me your hand."

Again with the presumptions! I was too tired and afraid of falling off the side of the boat to argue, however, and said, "Alright." Slowly, I took one hand off the rail and wavered before Jack's hand enveloped mine and steadied me. A bolt of electricity shot through me at our touch.

"I'm Jack Dawson," he said, and I grinned a bit sheepishly. Oh, yeah, I must have made a helluva great first impression.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dawson," I replied politely, concentrating now on turning. The narrow rail I was standing on was not made for standing on in the first place. Now, it seemed to be impossible to turn safely. Slowly, I raised my foot, and put it on the next rail.

I slipped, a bit of cloth catching underneath my foot, and screamed, falling from the ship. I plainly saw the panic on my own face mirrored on Jack's as he was pulled up against the rail and almost flipped over himself. Then he steadied and his grip on my wrist tightened. I shrieked again, looking down, and Jack shouted, "I've got you." I looked up, and his bright eyes fastened on mine. "I won't let go."

"Now pull yourself up!" he cried, and I grabbed the rail, trying to haul my full weight up. Jack helped, being much stronger than I, and I got safely over the side of the rail. We tumbled to the deck, Jack ending up on top of me. Both of us were breathing hard, and our eyes were still locked.

"Oy, what's all this?" a voice said, and I suddenly realized what this must looked like. Jack did too, and got up, his open face instantly closing in defense. An officer was standing above us, looking very, very unhappy. My dress was ripped where I had stepped on it. Crap, I thought.

Moments later, I was wrapped in a thick blanket and Jack was being handcuffed by a very burly man. Cal was paying no mind to me, and that ticked me off. Then, he started to yell at Jack. I winced as he pronounced every word as a verbal slap: "What made you think you could put your hands on my fiancée? Look at me, you filth!" he raged as Jack looked angrily away. "What did you think you were doing?"

At a pause in Cal's rant, I injected the truth. "Cal, stop! It was an accident!" Cal stopped and looked at me, his eyebrows raised, his face slightly red.

"An… accident?" I could tell Cal didn't believe me, and I also knew I had to make him.

"Yes." I glanced at Jack, who too was looking a bit surprised. "It was stupid, really," I continued cheerfully, "I was leaning over to see the, uh…" What were the dratted things called? "Uh, uh, uh…"

"Propellers," Cal suggested, rolling his eyes.

"Yes! And I slipped, and I would have gone overboard…" I caught Jack's eye. "And Mr. Dawson here saved me, and he almost went over himself!" I relaxed, satisfied by my story. The elements of a perfect lie: simple, yet very believable.

"You wanted to see the propellers."Cal wasn't entirely convinced, and it wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. Then Cal sighed, placated. "Women and machinery do not mix," he muttered under his breath, and I had to bite back a retort to that unbelievably sexist comment. Then he turned to Jack. "Was that the way of it?"

Jack looked at me, and I urged him to lie with my eyes. Then Jack looked back at Cal, his face unreadable. "Yeah, that was pretty much it."

"Well, the boy's a hero, then," said one of the officers. "Good for you son, well done!" He uncuffed Jack, who stepped away rubbing his wrists. Cal walked over to me and rubbed my arms, not even glancing again at Jack.

"Let's get you inside, you must be freezing." As he began to hustle me away, the officer stopped him.

"Perhaps something for the boy?" he asked in a low tone. Cal looked at him, annoyed, then pasted a mask-like smile on his face and told the bodyguard that followed him around to hand Jack a 20.

"Is that the going rate for the woman you love?" I asked. I hated this guy. What a jerk.

"Rose is displeased," the said jerk mused, surveying my face. "What to do?" He turned to Jack, who was looking at me with a suspicious look on his handsome face. "Ah," he said finally, snapping his fingers. "I know. Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow, to regale our group with your heroic tale?"

Jack didn't even hesitate. Looking right at me, he replied, "Count me in."

"Good," Cal said, surveying Jack with a condescending eye. "It's settled then." He put a possessive arm around me, and I shrugged it off. Unfazed, he put his hand on the small of my back and muttered, "This should be amusing."

I stared at him, startled. Unnoticing, he guided me to my room, then left.

A few minutes later, he returned to find me sitting at me dresser and combing out my hair. "I know you've been melancholy, and I don't pretend to know why," he began, striding over to me and putting his hands jealously on my shoulders. One of his hands came off and set a black box in front of me, only to return to its post. "I intended to save this for the engagement gala next week, but I thought tonight, perhaps as a… reminder of my… feelings for you…"

Slowly, I opened the gift and took out a heavy necklace. It was a delicate gold chain with a beautiful blue stone that was almost heart shaped. "My God, Cal, is that a…"

"Diamond? Yes, it is." He laughed almost self-consciously. "56 carats." He took the jewel from my hand and draped the jewelry over my neck, then leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder. "It was once worn by Louis the Sixteenth. They call it Le Couer de la Mer, the…"

"Heart of the Ocean," I finished, breathless from the beauty of the shimmering gem. "Cal… it's overwhelming." He seemed pleased by this statement, and moved his fingers gently over my neck and throat.

"There's nothing I couldn't give you," he whispered, his breath tickling my cheek. "There's nothing I would deny you, if you wouldn't deny me. Open your heart to me, Rose."

I looked at our reflections in the mirror, side by side, husband and wife to be. I was tempted for a moment, then sighed with the weight of what he was asking. "Leave me to change," I asked, and Cal rose and walked out.

Once alone, I felt a mental fog be lifted and remembered my true identity. I had forgotten I wasn't really Rose! I also remembered what happened throughout the course of the movie. Who I was came rushing back to me, and I shuddered in remembrance of Cal's touch on my neck. Then I recalled the feel of Jack's hand upon mine and the intensity of his gaze, and I sighed happily, slouching back in my chair. Oh, boy, I couldn't wait until he kissed me! I would just have to make sure I didn't forget myself again.

Placated and daydreaming of Jack, I continued to get ready for bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Sorry I haven't uploaded in so long- I just got back from a trip. I love the untold spots in this movie- I can put anything in them! Anyway, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer- I sadly do not own the movie or any of the characters from the movie. **

Cass's POV

The next morning I woke up in bed, and groaned as I tried to move. My foot hurt where it had slipped off the rail, and my back and arm ached from holding on to Jack. There was a light bruise on my stomach where I had flipped over the rail. Well, I reasoned, at least I wasn't dead.

I managed to roll out of bed and looked hopelessly in the mirror. My hair! I was going to see Jack this morning, and apparently being in another century didn't mean I would wake up with my hair perfectly curled. Groaning, I staggered over to the closet and looked at the impossible multitude of gowns. Um… the turquoise one, or the gold and yellow one? Maybe the blue one.

I was extremely relieved when the maid came in and clicked her tongue. "Miss, please sit down at your dresser." Why had I complained about this yesterday? It was a relief just to sit back and watch as someone else took over. She took out a white dress and laid it over the side of the bed, then took out a corset and a pair of pantyhose. I picked up the comb and began to work the knots painfully out of my hair. Once I had finished with that, the maid bade me stand up and helped me into my corset, tightening the bottom strings so hard I almost hurled.

"Um, can you go a bit… looser on the underwear?" I gasped as she continued to tighten the strings. "I can barely breathe!" The maid smiled sympathetically at me, but continued to cruelly pull at the cords. Finally she finished, my waist the fashionable size of my wrist, and I began to remember why I hated this era. The whalebone sides were biting into my ribs and bruise. The silk of the dress felt nice and smooth on my skin as I slipped into it, but the skirt was long enough where it was just easy enough to trip in but still look like a fool doing so. It even had a small teal train! How would I manage to look elegant for Jack in this thing?

An hour later, I had found Jack and was walking nervously with him on the first-class deck. He stuck out in his rough clothes, but since I was with him, no one questioned him. We had been walking in silence for a bit, awkwardly. Finally, Jack spoke.

"So… You got a name?" He smiled shyly and shoved his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders. Slowly, I nodded, tugging my skirt out from under my impractical shoes.

"Rose. Rose DeWitt Bukater." Now it was my turn to blush and focus on the floor. Jeez, even my name sounded pompous.

"That's quite a name. I may hafta get you to write that down." Jack looked up, a grin spreading over his features, and met my eyes with his blue ones. I remembered the feeling of losing myself from last night and looked away to concentrate on not becoming Rose. Might as well practice. I could feel the tension between us.

"Mr. Dawson, I…"

"Jack."

"Jack." I looked up and grinned a little bit, before almost losing myself again and looking back down. "I feel like such an idiot." Jack's face turned from a bit amused to panicky, but I plowed on before he could stop me. A bit of Rose's anxiety slipped into my feelings. "I mean… it took me all morning to get up the nerve to face you."

"Well, here you are," Jack said after a moment. I laughed, surprised. Jack seemed to be as uncomfortable as I was.

"Here I am!" Then I laughed again, nervously. "I… I want to thank you for what you did. Not just for pulling me back, but for your… discretion." I met his eyes again, and was surprised when Rose didn't take over. Just a bit of her awkwardness filtered through. I relaxed a bit.

"You're welcome." He let a beat pass, then added, his eyes dancing, "Rose."

I realized I was letting just enough of Rose in to keep me on track and to tell me what to say, to guide me along her life. "Look." Her fury rose in me, and I almost giggled at how alike we were. We both had a quick temper. This time, though, her embarrassment diluted the torrent of anger that spilled from me. "I know what you must be thinking. Poor little rich girl, what does she know of misery." I stalked ahead.

"No." This one word stopped me dead in my tracks, and I turned around as Jack continued. "That wasn't what I was thinking at all. What I was thinking was, what could have happened to this girl to make her think she had no way out?"

"I…" I stopped and looked at him, then sighed. "It was my whole world, and every thing in it!" I strode over to the side of the boat to look over at the rushing water. "And the inertia of my life!" Plunging ahead, and me, powerless to stop it!" I showed him the engagement ring Cal had given me, that the maid had insisted I wear. Of course, I had wanted to leave it off, so that I didn't remind Jack that I was practically a married woman, but whatever.

"God, look at that thing," he chuckled, taking my hand to look at it more closely. Then he looked back up, and his eyes were dancing. "You would have gone straight to the bottom."

I met his gaze. "Five hundred invitations have gone out. All of Philadelphia's society will be there, and all the while I feel I'm… standing in a crowded room, screaming at the top of my lungs and no one looks up. Jack's smile had gone, replaced by a look of concern. I breathed in deeply, sagging against the side of the boat.

"Do you love him?" Jack asked. I tensed again, at first bewildered. I was sure she hadn't heard right. Her knowledge told me how rude a question that was. Her reaction was so strong I lost control for a moment as she spit out a reply.

"Pardon me." As I regained control, I tightened my lips to suppress the torrent of anger that she was almost about to force me to unleash. Jack grinned humorlessly, then again, amused as he watched me struggle to control Rose.

"Do you love him?" he repeated. My mouth fell open. Rose was for once speechless. So was I.

"You're… you're being very rude," I protested, scrambling to put a sentence together. "You shouldn't be asking me this." Rose's hysteria was mounting. It was clear no one had ever asked her this before, or put her into any sort of position where she was talking to an impolite person. I knew how to deal with this, but I decided not to.

Now, Jack was very obviously trying not to laugh. "It's a simple question. Do you love the guy or not?" I laughed in disbelief, then again, trying to search Rose's mind for something to say that wouldn't include sounding like I came from the 21st century.

"This is not a suitable conversation," I finally retorted weakly. Jack chuckled a bit as I fumbled for words.

"Why can't you just answer the question?" He seemed slightly bewildered that I was so opposed to answering. I didn't even bother to search Rose's thoughts this time- I knew she had just as little an idea of what to say as I did. Instead, I laughed in disbelief, again, and turned away, my hand on my forehead. My dress got caught on my shoe a bit as I spun around to face him again and I stumbled, then quickly righted myself and hoped Jack hadn't seen.

"This is absurd!" I finally blurted out when Rose got over her silent spell. "You don't know me and I don't know you." I kind of wanted to shut up then because Rose was messing up her chances with the hottest guy on the ship, but I kept talking anyway. "And, we are not having this conversation at all!" I watched at Jack crossed his arms and leaned against a mast. "You are rude, and uncouth, and presumptuous," why was he nodding? "and I am leaving now," I stuck out my hand for him to shake and he took it, "Jack, Mr. Dawson, it's been a pleasure, I sought you out to thank you and now I have thanked you…"

"And insulted me," he cut in, his eyes glimmering in amusement. I opened my mouth, Rose failing me for a moment.

"Well… you deserved it!" I defended myself, setting my jaw.

"Right."

"Right!" I continued shaking his hand until Jack looked down purposefully.

"I thought you were leaving," Jack stated, and I blushed a bit.

"I am," I scoffed, and let go of his hand, turning around to go. After a few steps, I turned around again to face him. "You are so annoying!" I began to walk away again, Jack laughing at my back. Then I stopped suddenly. "Wait." I began to walk back towards him. "I don't have to leave, this is my part of the ship. You leave." With that, I thanked Rose for the comeback silently and pointed the opposite way, staring Jack defiantly in the face.

"Ohoho," he chuckled, tilting his head and squinting at me against the sun. "Well, well ,well. Now who's being rude?" I stared at him, looked around to share my incredulity with someone else, realized no one else was paying attention, and gave a breathy little laugh. Then I noticed the folder tucked under his arm, and snatched it.

"What is this stupid thing you're carrying around?" I opened it up. Inside were sketches. "So what are you, an artist or something?" I looked back at him. He was looking up at the sky. "Well…" I sat down in one of the deck chairs. "These are rather good." Jack sat down next to me as I amended, "They're uh, very good actually."

There were a bunch of them. A woman was holding her baby gently; a child was standing awkwardly with the help of two rough hands; and all of them were exquisitely lifelike. Jack was looking off into the distance when I glanced up at him. "Oh, they don't think too much of 'em in old Paree."

"Paris?" I asked, astounded. Jack looked up at me and nodded. I nodded back, slightly. "You do get around. For a p…" I looked down at his work, then stuttered, "Well... I mean… a person of… limited means…"

"Go on, you can say it," Jack chuckled, putting me out of my misery. "I'm a poor guy, you can say it." I blushed again, and bowed my head to hide it, flipping the page. A nude woman laid on her side, a cigarette dangling from her mouth. That didn't help my reddening cheeks.

"Well, well, well," I stammered. I flipped to another one, of a nude woman lounging before a mirror. "And… these were drawn from life?" Jack nodded, and a man walked past. Jealously, I hid the drawings from him.

"That's one of the good things about Paris," Jack said once the man had gone. "Lots of girls willing to take their clothes off." I looked up sharply at him. Seeing how serious he was, I laughed softly and flipped the page. A woman with dark hair looked luxuriously and shamelessly straight ahead. I flipped the page and there she was again, a close up sketch of her hands resting on her breasts.

"You like this woman." I looked up at Jack. "You used her several times."

"Well," he began, flipping the page to another drawing of her hands. "She had beautiful hands, y'see?" The shading detailed the lines on the delicate hands in the drawing, and the corner of my mouth turned up. The obviously had worked hard on these.

"I think you must have had a love affair with her," I said slyly, looking up at him. He full out laughed at this. I couldn't help but smile along.

"No, no, just with her hands. She was a…" he turned the page, "one-legged prostitute." I looked up, dismayed, then back down as he pointed to the paper. "See?"

"O-oh!" I said, a bit distraught by the crude likeness. Jack grinned and chuckled, and I managed to fake one as I turned the paper a bit.

"Ah, she had a good sense of humor, though," he said, a bit wistfully. He turned the page. "Oh, and this lady." The drawing was of a plump woman with a fur coat, a hat, and jewelry on, looking distrustfully towards the artist (Jack, I guess) and fingering a string of pearls as she reached for a glass of what looked like wine. "She used to sit at this bar every night, wearing ever piece of jewelry she owned, waiting for her long lost love." I looked down at the sketch. I could see that air now, that sad aura. "We called her Madame Viju. See how her clothes are all moth-eaten?"

"Well," I breathed, and looked up at Jack. "You have a gift, Jack, you do." Jack looked up from his drawing to look into my eyes. "You see people."

"I see you." He was still subjecting me to his piercing gaze. I straightened up a bit, and looked regally down at him.

"And?"

He studied me a bit. Then, he gave me a little smile. "You wouldn't have jumped."


	3. Chapter 3

**HI! Sorry it took me forever to update, I've been busy. Happy fourth of July! Thank you, Blondiee Leah and feeltheday121, for giving the first reviews! Sorry I haven't recognized you for so long… anyway, here goes!**

Jack and I talked for a while. He told me about himself, and how he grew up, and about his many adventures. While he was talking, I was half listening, half musing about Rose. She seemed like another presence in my head, there for reference. I could keep her back pretty easy now. She just gave advice, and only came out and forced me to do things her way when she was mad. Plus, she told me what to say.

In a lull in the conversation, I sighed. "Why can't I be more like you Jack? Just head out for the horizon whenever I feel like it. Say we go there sometime… to that pier…" (he had been describing a pier he had visited once) "…even if we only ever talk about it." I turned to Jack, smiling, imagining it. The sunset, him showing me around… it was a vision of heaven in a few moments.

"No, we'll do it!" Jack exclaimed, and twirled me around lightly, so I was laughing. "We'll drink cheap beer and go on the rollercoaster until we throw up," here I giggled. Rose was laughing too, in my head. It was odd. "…and we'll ride horses on the beach, right in the surf." He met my eyes in mock seriousness, but it was no use. His eyes were still chuckling. "But you have to ride like a cowboy. None of that side-saddle stuff."

"You mean, one leg on each side!" I grinned, tilting my head up to the waning sun. "Scandalous! Will you show me?" Jack smiled back, and I closed my eyes. The moment was… perfect. Rose was practically singing.

"Sure," he chuckled, and I opened my eyes again. "If you like."

"I think I would," I replied slowly. "I'll ride like a man!" I put on a funny accent for the last line.

"And chew tobacco like a man."

" And… and… spit like a man!" I laughed wildly. There was no chance of that happening. I was going to be gone by the end of the movie anyway. We would never get a chance.

"I can show you that now," Jack said, and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the hull. My eyes widened. A thousand thoughts rushed through my mind. We were on the first class deck… people would tell Rose's mother… Rose's mother could see us…

"No, Jack, no!" I hissed as he came to a stop. He just ignored my protests and stuck his hands in his pockets, the sun shining brilliantly off of his gold hair.

"Now watch closely," he instructed, then threw his head back, hocked up a wad of phlegm, and spit. It arched into the shimmering water rushing past us. I screwed up my nose in disgust. "Now you try," he said, barely suppressing a laugh. I shot him a bemused look, then took a deep breath and spit. A little stem of saliva trickled from my lips.

"Pathetic!" Jack exclaimed as I wiped my chin. "Here, like this." He went through all the steps again, slower. I watched closely, then did my best. This time, the spittle stream landed in the water. Jack nodded, impressed. "Not bad. Now, you just have to get the trick." He demonstrated the preparation of the arch. Right as he was getting to the part where he gathered the spit at the back of his throat, "Really get the head into it," and making hilarious snorting sounds, I saw Rose's mother.

My eyes grew huge and I nudged Jack a few times. He turned around quickly and swallowed whatever he had gotten up. I swallowed a bit of nausea and grinned shakily at Mrs. D.B. "Mother… may I introduce Jack Dawson?"

"Charmed, I'm sure," 'Mother' replied in a condescending tone. I blanched, then did so again when I noticed Molly Brown, a portly woman who had a great wittiness and whom Mother didn't like at all, from the way Rose was groaning, motioning to her chin and looking at Jack. The boy wiped his chin, where a drop of drool had been resting a moment earlier. The other women chatted to Jack, but Mother… well, let's just say that if he weren't taller then her, she would have squashed him.

"Well, Jack, it seems you're a good man to have around in a sticky spot." Ms. Brown finished. Jack nodded his head modestly, glancing at me. I felt a blush warm my cheeks and turned to Mother to hide it.

"Shall we go dress for dinner, Mother?" I asked politely. With a final, hard look towards Jack, Mother grasped my arm and swept me towards my rooms. "See you at dinner, Jack!" I called over my shoulder. Mother was reprimanding me for something, per usual, but all I could think was, I am seeing Jack at dinner tonight. Is that a date?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Sorry about not uploading in a loooooooong time… I just figured out how to upload the chapters I wrote. Thanks for reading! **

**Disclaimer: hey, does anyone know if we have to do this every time? Anyway, I only own my renditions of the characters. Not any of the actual script. Or the movie characters. Even Jack, which depresses me.**

Beth's POV

I was in a silvery dress and getting ready for dinner. My one train of thought was, I am worried, what is Cass doing now?

See, my sister needed to think ahead. There were only a few days left on the ship until we died, or, many people died. Rose didn't. I didn't know what happens if I did, and I hadn't seen Rosie in about a millennium, it seemed. She was down in the third class area. I felt so… helpless. I had no control over anything, and knew about nothing. All I knew was I needed to speak to them both.

Sigh. I had an inkling something would go wrong tonight. After all, my teenaged sister was in a room with Jack Dawson.

Cass's POV

I walked into the giant room, with the dome on the top and the bustling people in their finery. I pulled up my white gloves to their rightful place above my elbows, as they were constantly slipping down to my wrists. My dress was a beautiful ruby and black, with jewels on the bodice and a low cut that I knew would make Beth would kill me if I wore back home.

I spotted Jack at the same time Cal did, imitating a gentleman's stance, one arm elegantly behind his back. Cal walked right past him, nodding familiarly to him. I hid a grin as I walked up to him, and held out a hand. To my only partial surprise, Jack bent down and kissed it. The back of my hand tingled where his lips touched it, and I blushed, smiling profusely. I couldn't stop staring at him. He looked amazing in anything, but the tuxedo suit thingy he was wearing set off his wonderful blonde hair, which was slicked back, and the angles in his cheeks.

"I saw that in a Nickelodeon once, and I've always wanted to do it," he murmured against my hand, and I felt his lips curve into a smile. I snickered, pressing my lips together in an attempt to stay quiet, then called Cal over.

"Cal, surely you remember Mr. Dawson." Cal looked at him, then did a comical double-take that had me shaking in silent laughter. I settled down as Cal raised one eyebrow in disbelief.

"Dawson! I didn't recognize you!" He studied him, then nodded appreciatively. "Amazing. You could almost pass as a gentleman."

Jack's face went tight as he replied, "Almost." I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Cal. The only thing that surprised me was that my mother hadn't delivered that comment. I squeezed Jack's hand, which I was still holding, and led him after Cal and my mother.

"There's the countess Rothes," I explained, pointing out notable people that I found interesting from Rose's knowledge. "Oh, and there's John Jacob Astor, the richest man on the ship. His little wifey there, Madeline, is my age and in a delicate condition. See how she's trying to hide it? Quite the scandal… And over there, that's Sir Cosmo and Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon. She designs naughty lingerie, among her many talents. Very popular with the royals. And that's Benjamin Guggenheim and his mistress, Madame Aubert. Mrs. Guggenheim is at home with the children." I paused for a moments, then said sarcastically, "Of course."

Molly Brown ambled over, grinning widely. "Care to escort a lady to dinner?" she asked, and Jack held out his arm. She took it. "Ain't nothin' to it, is there, Jack? Remember, the only thing they respect is money, so just pretend like you're the heir to a gold mine and you're in the club."

Astor and his wife strolled over, obviously keen on meeting the new 'member of the club,' as Molly put it. "J.J, Madeline, I'd like you to meet Jack Dawson." Astor put his hand out and shook Jack's, while Madeline raised her eyebrows at me. I blushed.

"Good to meet you, Jack," Astor said, almost hyping up the whole 'I'm a big man and older so respect me' tone. "Are you of the Boston Dawsons?" Apparently, a rich family had Jack's name. Interesting… Well, Astor would have to be disappointed with the truth. I opened my mouth to tell him that he was a man that saved my life.

"No, the Chippewa Falls Dawsons, actually," Jack grinned before I could get out a word. I closed my mouth quickly. Well, that was the truth. And by the way Astor nodded confusedly, it would take him a long time to figure out there were no Chippewa Falls Dawsons he would know of.

Madeline leaned in. giggling, and confided softly, "It's a pity we're both spoken for, isn't it?" I nodded slyly, one unspoken response running through my head. Not if I had anything to say about it.

Jack didn't sit next to me. Instead, I was wedged between my mother and Cal, like a protective barrier. Molly was next to my mother, then Jack. I met his eye. He must have been so nervous, but he didn't show it. And, like Astor, the whole group assumed he was one of them. At least, until Mother opened her mouth.

"Tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson. I hear they're quite good on this ship." I could tell Mother was trying to start something, to get Jack to stutter, falter, something. But Jack did none of those things. He didn't even pause.

"The best I've seen, ma'am. Hardly any rats." There was a general sprinkling of laughter, hidden by a few coughs. I cleared my throat and motioned for Jack to put his napkin on his lap. Then I looked at my many forks and knives and spoons. Good thing I had been forced to take etiquette this year, or I wouldn't know to work my way in.

The waiter came by and got to Jack first. "How would you like your caviar, sir?" he asked politely. Jack shook his head quickly.

"No caviar for me, thanks. I never did like it much." He looked at me, his face absolutely serious, and I smiled, coughing a bit as I tried not to laugh. My mother caught this and narrowed her eyes. I braced myself- she was determined to get Jack disliked.

"And where exactly do you live, Mr. Dawson?" she asked tensely.

"Well, right now, my address is the RMS Titanic. After that, I'm on God's good humor." He nodded and dug into his salad. I bit my lip, noticing he used his fish fork. Molly, thank god, nudged him and picked up his salad fork. Surreptitiously, he switched utensils.

"You find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?" my mother pressed, making it clear that she didn't. Jack ignored this implied understatement.

"Well, it's a big world, and I want to see it all before I go." That statement made my stomach clench as I remembered what happened at the end of the movie, and I silently vowed to change his future. "My father was always talking about going to see the ocean. He died in the town he was born in, and never did see it. You can't wait around, because you never know what hand you're going to get dealt next. See, my folks died in a fire when I was fifteen, and I've been on the road ever since. Some thing like that teaches you to take life as it comes at you. To make each day count."

The table was silent for a moment, each person digesting Jack's words. Mother had a pinched look on her face, and looked like a sullen toddler. Molly Brown, who had a knack for getting on my mother's last nerve, spoke up. "Well said, Jack." A gentleman at the table replied with a 'hear hear!'

I noticed how annoyed my mother was getting, and decided to take this opportunity to show my appreciation for the speech and get on my mother's nerve. I raised my glass. "To making it count," I said evenly, meeting Jack's gaze. He smiled as the table echoed my statement.

Ruth, not to be outdone, continued with the second Spanish Inquisition. "How is it you have the means to travel, Mr. Dawson?" she asked in mock politeness. I looked up sharply. How rude was she? Jack, as always, seemed unperturbed.

"I work my way from place to place. Tramp steamers and such. I won my ticket on Titanic here in a lucky hand at poker." He glanced at me, and grinned. "A very lucky hand," he added, and I blushed, sneaking a look at Ruth's face. She did not miss that reference, judging by the sour look on her face. I looked back down at my dinner.

The dinner continued on, my mother stopping the questioning and just sitting silently. I commented once and a while, but mostly just ate quietly. Finally, the men got their cigars out and I sighed, leaning over to talk to Jack as Cal got up.

"Next it'll be brandies in the Smoking Room," I whispered, and giggled in a hushed tone as the man next to me and asked the men to join him in the Smoking Room for a brandy. Jack chuckled too, then laughed outright, albeit quietly, when I continued: "Now they retreat into a cloud of smoke and congratulate themselves on being masters of the universe." Thank you, Rose. I was being funny around a guy I was developing a serious crush on! I wasn't stuttering like an imbecile!

"Joining us, Dawson?" a man said, looking at Jack. "You don't want to stay out here with the women, do you?" He gave a hearty laugh. I clenched my teeth, holding back a nasty comeback about how women had much better things to do with their time then sit around with fat old men like himself anyway. After all, it wasn't like back then women actually did have anything better to do, at least that they were allowed to do.

"No, thanks," Jack replied, scraping back his chair and standing up. "I'll be heading back." My face fell. Crap, he was leaving already?

"Jack, must you go?" I beseeched him, not wanting him to leave. He grinned down at me and took my hand, bending down over it.

"Time for my coach to turn back into a pumpkin," he replied, right before his lips rested on my hand for the second time that night. They stayed there for a moment longer then necessary, then he straightened up, and, nodding goodnight to every one at the table, strode away. I watched him leave, then realized my hand was clamped around something. A piece of paper! I looked nervously around, then opened the folded bit of parchment under the table. It read, 'Make it count. Meet me at the clock."

I raised my eyebrow. Ok… fine. I would. Better then sticking around here anyway, and I would get to see Jack! Spurred by that happy thought, I leapt up. When Ruth gave me a look, I muttered a quick excuse and ran as fast as I could in my heavy gown up the stairs. Jack was waiting with his back towards me, studying the clock intently. He turned as I reached him, saw me, and smiled.

"Want to go to a real party?"

The music was loud, and there were people dancing everywhere. I laughed and clapped as I watched Jack dancing with a girl that couldn't be more then five, as a man tried to speak to me. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you!" I yelled, accepting a pint of beer from a passing man. As I watched, I heard a crashing sound. A man had fallen over, obviously drunk. A couple of others picked him up, the offered him another beer. I laughed, enjoying the carefree attitude of the party.

Everyone clapped as the music ended. Then another song started up, and Jack bent down to look the little girl in the eye. "I'm gonna dance with her now, alright?" he said, pointing to me. My jaw dropped. What? I couldn't dance! Also… well, I was gonna be dancing with Jack, my crush. God, this night was messy. "C'mon," he said to me.

"What?" I asked fearfully.

"C'mon!" he said again, and grabbed my hand. "Come with me."

I was led onto the dance floor, protesting the whole time. "Jack! Wait." I looked up into his eyes, and they were twinkling. But I was dead serious. How was I supposed to dance something I didn't know? Rose didn't know it either, so I knew I was in trouble. "I can't do this."

Jack smiled at me reassuringly. "Well, we're gonna have to get a bit closer." Wait- this was a comfortable distance! But Jack put his hand on my waist and drew me close. "Like this." I whimpered softly. Oh God, oh God…

I noticed the little girl glaring at me resentfully, and Jack obviously did too, because he turned his head towards her. "You're still my best girl, Cora." Cora perked up noticeably. I couldn't help but grin a little at this. She was so cute! Then he turned back to me.

"I don't know this dance!" I tried again. Jack grinned.

"Neither do I. Just go with it!" I laughed nervously. We began to prance around, and I became very aware of how close our faces were. "Don't think!" he cried, and we plunged into the fray. I squeezed my eyes shut, little screams erupting comically from my mouth.

"Wait! Jack, wait, no, ah!" He whirled me around, then dragged me up onto the raised dance floor. His feet began to move, tapping out a rhythm in time to the music. I watched, interested. He was good. Really, really good. Laughing, I tore off my shoes and tossed them to a girl in the crowd. If he could, so could I. I copied him step for step, adding a few flourishes of my own. Jack looked at me, then my feet, his brow puckering. I grinned, cocky, up at him and he beamed back. Then he did a more difficult step. I did it too, matching and adding on. Then he looped his arm through mine and we spun around, both laughing. Then Jack grabbed both my hands and leaned back, forcing me to do the same. We began to spin around. "Jack? No!" I objected, and watched as he grinned then opened his mouth and yelled out. I screamed back, the actions almost a call and answer.

Once the dance had ended, Jack drew me over to a table where two men were arm wrestling and grabbed us both beers. He took a sip, but I chugged mine, thirsty from the exertion of dancing. I looked up and grinned. "What, you think a first class girl can't drink?" Then I laughed, a bit drunk from adrenaline.

Then a man crashed into me, spilling his beer all over my dress. Jack grabbed the front of his shirt and shoved him away. "Hey, get out of here." He turned to me, concerned. "You OK?" But I was laughing, thinking of the look that would be on my mother's face if she were here.

The winner of the arm wrestling match called a two out of three, but before they could start on the next round, I stopped them. So," I began, taking a cigarette out of the winner's mouth and taking a drag. "You think you're big, tough men? Let's see you do this." I picked up the hem of my dress and handed it to Jack. "Hold this for me." I raised my arms, copying a ballerina's first position arms, then slowly rose onto demi-pointe, raise my arms at the same time. Then I did the real trick- I rolled up onto my bare toes. My face contracted in pain, and I could only hold the stance for a few seconds before I fell. Jack caught me, and as I relaxed in his arms, I explained, "I haven't done that in years!" Another dance started, and I grabbed Jack's hand. This time, I was pulling him into the crowd, and I laughed as my hair whipped around me.

Yup, I had a massive crush on Jack.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! This chapter starts with a deleted scene from the movie that I loved and was very angry they edited out… anyway, enjoy!**

Cass's POV

Jack and I danced around the deck, singing Come Josephine at the top of our lungs. Our hands were clasped, and swinging back and forth in time to the song. We fumbled the words and began to laugh, our hands leaving each other as we bent over, guffawing loudly. When we recovered, we straightened up and found that we were at the first class entrance. It was time for me to leave.

Stalling, I leaned back against the railing, looking up at the sparkling night sky. So many stars looked down at us, twinkling merrily, just like Jack's eyes. "Isn't it magnificent? So vast and endless…" I sighed. "They're such small people, Jack. My crowd… They think they're giants on the earth, but they're not even dust in God's eye. They live inside this tiny champagne bubble, and someday that bubble is going to burst."

Jack moved to lean next to me, and our fingers touched. His hand was warm, despite the chilly air. "There's been a mistake," he said softly, looking not at me, but up at the sky.

"A mistake?"

"Uh huh," he replied. "You got mailed to the wrong address." I considered that. I hated the life I was living- or, rather, Rose was living and I was visiting in, and loved the parties and carefree aura that the lower class people had.

"I did, didn't I?" I laughed softly. Then a flash of light caught my eye, and I pointed. "Look, a shooting star!"

"That was a long one," Jack observed. I nodded, straining to see the trail it must have left behind. "My father used to say that whenever you see one, it's a soul going to heaven."

I smiled. "I like that." It was a sentimental way of looking at it, and it kind of made me want to cry. To dispel the solemn mood, I asked, "Aren't we supposed to wish on it?" I turned to Jack, and found that our noses were almost touching, we were so close. I blushed, but Jack's gaze kept me from backing away.

"What would you wish for?" he whispered. Was he going to kiss me? Was this is? But we were right by the door… what if Cal walked out and saw? There was no telling what he would do. Rose was quiet, for once, and I realized that I hadn't heard from her in a while. She seemed to have kind of become a part of me… her knowledge was my knowledge, her thoughts were my thoughts my thoughts, mingled with mine. I could no longer tell the difference. Oh, right… and her feelings were mine, with a vengeance! I had a crush on Jack, but so did Rose, and now that we were the same person, we were dangerous. Well, at least I didn't have two people in my head anymore.

I realized Jack was still waiting for my answer, and I smiled sadly, pulling back. "Something I can't have. Goodnight, Jack, and thank you." I hurried away through the entrance.

The next morning, I was stiff, and tired, and grumpy. Cal wasn't making it any better. We were having breakfast alone on the promenade, sunlight splashing our faces, and he was just staring at me. Before I could yell out, "What!" he spoke.

"I had hoped you would come to me last night." I knew full well what he was talking about and glanced up sharply. Um, no? Ew! I didn't even remotely like the guy, and even if I did… shudder. Not an option.

"I was tired," I replied, not bothering to keep the disgust out of my voice. Cal's eyes grew cold.

"Yes… your exertions below deck were no doubt exhausting." I glared at him, knowing how he knew. His stupid man servant, the bodyguard dude, had probably been sent to find me. Who knew what he had seen… oh, well. I should just have kissed Jack the other night; Cal probably thought I already had.

"I see you had that undertaker of a manservant follow me." It was an accusation, plainly daring Cal to deny it. He stiffened, about to rise up to the challenge.

"You will never behave like that again, do you understand me?" he yelled, furious. I stayed in my seat. I knew that the thing that made people like him the angriest was when the other person stayed calm. So, I did. I met his gaze calmly.

"I am not some foreman in your mills that you can command. I am your fiancée…" I began. Cal stalked over to me and raised his hand. He brought it down hard on my cheek as he screamed out threats, and orders. His arm swept the china off the table in one large crash.

My instinct was to shrink down, to keep off Cal's bad side from now on, but instead, my furious side welled up. Knowing full well this was not what Rose did in the movie, I spit in his face as Trudy, my maid, entered. Furious, Cal followed my gaze, then straightened up and stalked off. All of a sudden, my energy gave out, and I sank to the floor. "I'm so sorry, Trudy," I whispered, watching helplessly as she picked up the china. She glanced pityingly at me.

"It's alright, miss. Go to your rooms, I'll be there in a moment to help you dress."

I meekly followed her instructions, my hand holding the side of my face. Ruth was waiting for me in my rooms, and I got out of my dress and into my corset. Ruth began to pull the strings and I winced, feeling the garment dig into my sides.

"You are not to see that boy again, do you hear me?" she fumed, pulling really hard on my corset strings. I sighed. Good god, I was tired of people ordering me about. I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Oh, stop it, mother. You'll give yourself a nosebleed." I was fed up. My mother, Cal, everyone just needed to back the hell off! Ruth whirled me around. I saw in her face desperation, grief, and anger.

"Rose, this is not a game. Our situation is precarious!" No, my temper right now was precarious. "You know the money is gone!"

"Of course I know it's gone," I cried. "You remind me every day!" Stupid, stupid woman. Why did she think I cared? It was her own fault, and she was trying to drag me into this, a situation I wanted nothing to do with.

"Your father left us with nothing but a series of bad debts hidden by a good name." Ruth did this often, blaming my father even though she had been the one to want every stinking little trifle, even if it was too expensive. I turned around violently, wanting nothing more then to escape. She continued pulling strings for a minute in silence. Then, she sighed. "I don't understand you." Well, she got that right. "It is a fine match with Hockley." Cal… well, she should have been there this morning. Might have shocked some sense into her. "It will ensure our survival."

"How can you put this on my shoulders?" I asked, angry at this woman that called herself a mother but was willing to sacrifice her only daughter for money.

"Do you want me working as a seamstress? Is that what you want? To see our fine things sold at auction, our memories scattered to the wind? My God, Rose, how can you be so selfish?" She was the one blabbing on about me, being selfish? I was selfish? Mother had said it- she didn't want to have to work for the money. She wanted it given to her, as it always had been.

"It's so unfair," I whispered.

"Of course it's unfair. We're women, our choices are never easy."

During church, I daydreamed. Was it truly fair to my mother, to blame her for all this? She knew nothing but luxury, comfort, and riches. I knew it wasn't fair to expect me to marry Cal for money and not love, as if anyone could marry that foul man for love, but was it fair to my mother to expect her to think any differently then she always had? She had probably married my father for money, and her mother married her father for money, and so on. It was truly all she knew.

The tour after church showed a new worry. Andrews, the boat designer, was showing us all the deck when I noticed something extremely odd that was no doubt the reason for the upcoming catastrophe.

"Mr. Andrews, I did the sum in my head, and with the number of lifeboats times the capacity you mentioned… forgive me, but it seems that there aren't enough for everyone aboard." I looked up, worried, at the now-smiling man.

"About half, actually. Rose, you miss nothing, do you? In fact, I put in these new types of davits, which can take another row of boats. But it was thought by some that the deck would look too cluttered, so I was overruled."

"Waste of deck space as it is, on an unsinkable ship!" This was Cal, the stupid, overconfident man.

"Sleep soundly, young Rose. I have built you a good ship, strong and true. She's all the lifeboat you'll need," Andrews reassured me. I nodded, unconvinced.

Just then, a man reached out and snatched my arm, drawing me into an empty room. It was Jack. I gasped, pulling away. "Jack! This is impossible. I can't see you." I tried to move away, but he grasped my shoulders.

"Rose, you're no picnic. You're a spoiled little brat, even, but under that you have a strong, pure heart, and you're the most amazingly astounding girl I have ever known and I…"

"Jack, I…" I began, but Jack stopped me.

"No, wait. Please let me try and get this out. You're amazing, and I know I have nothing to offer you. I've got ten bucks in my pocket… I know that, Rose. But I'm involved now. You jump, I jump, remember?" He grinned nervously, and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. A boy I liked finally liked me back, and I couldn't talk to him anymore! "I can't turn away without knowing you're gonna be alright."

"You're making this very hard," I said with a watery smile. "I'll be fine, really…"

"I don't think so," Jack admitted, and I stiffened. He hurried explain: "They've got you trapped in a glass jar like some butterfly, and you're going to die if you don't break out. Maybe not right away, because you're strong, but sooner or later, the fire in you is going to go out."

"It's not up to you to save me, Jack," I said.

"You're right." His piercing gaze met mine. "Only you can do that."

There was silence for a moment. Then I sighed and pulled away. "I have to get back. They'll miss me. Please, Jack, for both our sakes, leave me alone." I walked out the door, fighting the urge to rush back to Jack and tell him I didn't mean it, that I wanted to be with him.

During tea, I was regretting that particular move. The whole time, I was fighting with myself. Go to Jack, say I changed my mind? Or stay away, marry Cal, and live out the rest of my life wishing I had told Jack I liked him? When put that way, it wasn't much of a choice, but I also had to think of the way I was trapped. Just like Jack said.

I looked at a little girl at another table. She was in a flouncy blue dress, long white gloves, and was picking up a cookie daintily. Why were little girls her age forced to do this? Why wasn't she running around, playing? She couldn't have been more then four. I thought again of the way Ruth and Cal had me trapped, and made my choice. Calmly, slowly, I tipped my teacup over and spilled it all over my dress. "Oh, look what I've done," I said flatly. "Please excuse me." I got up and raced to my rooms.

Quickly, I pulled on a random dress and rushed to the third-class deck. Where would Jack be? I spotted Fabrizio, Jack's best friend, and rushed up to him. "Sir, would you happen to know where Jack would be? I need to tell him something, it's very urgent." Fabrizio smiled and told me to go look at the bow of the ship. I thanked him and rushed off.

Sure enough, there he was, still in his gentleman's long coat (the one he had worn to the party and wore when he drew me into the room), gazing out at the sea below him. I smiled. "Hello, Jack."


	6. Chapter 6

**Yes, I put that previous cliffhanger on purpose, but I guess it isn't much of one, seeing as I uploaded this chapter right after that one. I forgot the disclaimer on that one, but whatever. I don't own anything I haven't made up. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!**

Cass's POV

Jack whirled around, startled by the sound of my voice. I continued, trying to explain myself. "I changed my mind. Fabrizio said you'd be up here…"

"Shh," Jack cut me off gently, holding out his hand and smiling. "Come here." I took his hand and he pulled me to him, then put his free hand on my waist. "Close your eyes." Somehow, him telling me to close my eyes was a heck of a lot different then Ruth telling me to marry Cal, so I did close them. Gently, ever so gently, he turned me around. I felt the wind whip my face and throw my hair back. "Step up," he guided me, and I did, feeling the rail beneath me. He took my hands and raised them, then grabbed my waist again to steady me. "Okay, open your eyes."

When I did, I felt all the breath go out of me. The water in front of me was lit a shimmering gold from the dusk sky, and the ship was no longer under me, not to my senses. "Jack, I'm flying!" I gasped, feeling my shawl blow back and hearing the water hiss under me. Jack was singing Come Josephine softly in my ear. I closed my eyes then, and the feeling of buoyancy, of weightlessness, grew even stronger. I leaned back, resting against Jack.

He grasped my hands, still outstretched, and they began to move around mine, caressing my hands, intertwining, then just barely touching. I breathed in his scent, felt his warmth, felt his cheek against mine. I slowly turned my head, lowering my arms. He wrapped his arms around me and met my lips with his. It wasn't just a peck, either, and his mouth was a welcome pressure on mine.

After what felt like days, years, centuries, he moved away. Our eyes met, and he slowly helped me down. We said nothing. There was nothing to be said. We understood each other, and didn't want to break the spell with words. I let go of his hand and embraced him again, and he hugged me back, tightly, like he never wanted to let go.

**Yes, I know that was a short chapter, but it would be hard to continue on with this mood! Please please please review, I'm not sure if I layered on the fluff too much… anyway, it was fun to write. Yay! They finally kissed! Should have happened a long time ago in my opinion… so, yeah. Go climax!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! I just can't stop thinking about this story… it's so much fun to write! Anyway, yes this is the third chapter I have published today. This scene is one of the reasons this story is rated T. For all you who get embarrassed by the drawing scene or the car scene in Titanic, please, by all means, skip the first part and last part of this chapter. Actually, you might as well skip the whole chapter. I wouldn't be hurt. It was hard enough to write this myself! Anyway, I don't own the movie, yadda yadda. Read and Review and Enjoy!**

I led Jack into my rooms, already planning out my next step. I thanked the fact that Rose was a part of me now, or I would never have gone through with this plan. Much, much too embarrassing. As much as I trusted Jack, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this if I didn't feel what Rose was feeling. I knew that before I had ever met Jack, I felt embarrassed just changing in front of my friends in the gym locker room at school. Now, I was like a whole new person.

"Will this light do?" I asked, glancing around. "Don't artists need good light or something?" Jack nodded slowly, looking around with something like awe, and I flushed, realizing suddenly how grand this room must seem to a man that had been third class his whole life.

"Zat is true. I am not used to working in such 'orrible conditions," he replied humorously in a bad French accent. I grinned. "Hey, Monet!" he cried suddenly, pointing to a painting on my wall. I peered at it. Rose had owned Monet? Jeez! "Isn't he great? The use of color… I saw him once, through a hole in this garden fence."

I left him inspecting the paintings and went into an adjoining room, to a small metal safe in the corner. "Cal insists on lugging this thing everywhere," I explained. Jack looked around nervously.

"Should I be… expecting him anytime soon?" He seemed seriously concerned, and I didn't blame him. After all, Cal was engaged to me.

"Not as long as the cigars and brandy hold out," I replied, slightly bitter. I twiddled with the dial, then pulled the thing's door open and drew out the necklace Cal had given to me. The jewel on the end glittered as I showed it to Jack. He took it, kind of nervous.

"What is it, a sapphire?" he asked, turning it this way and that and studying it with an artist's eye.

"A diamond. A very rare diamond, called the Heart of the Ocean." I looked at the gem, a wealth beyond the capacity of normal money. Jack must have been confused as to why I was showing him this, so I took a deep breath. Time to spill it. "I want you to draw me like you draw your French girls, wearing this." Jack nodded, still captivated by the necklace. I smiled, knowing he had no idea what I meant. "Wearing only this," I finished quietly, studying his face. He glanced up at me, startled.

The next few moments passed quickly. I got in back and undressed while Jack prepared his pencils and whatever else he might need. A kimono was lying conveniently across the bed and I put it on, then stepped out. He looked up from sharpening a charcoal.

"The last thing I need," I said, walking up to him, "is another picture of me looking like a china doll. As a paying customer," I flipped him a coin, "I expect to get what I want." I then stepped back, and, my heart pounding, let the kimono drop to the floor. Jack's mouth dropped open and he shut it quickly. Then I walked over to the couch, where he had pointed wordlessly, and settled down on it.

"Uh, bend your left leg a little," he said, gulping. "And lower your head. Eyes to me… that's it." He began to sketch, then dropped his pencil, his hand was shaking so badly. I stifled a laugh, then stopped when he glared at me. His cheeks were flushed.

"I believe you are blushing, Mr. Big Artiste. I can't imagine Monsieur Monet blushing." I bit my lip to keep from laughing again when he bent to pick up his pencil, sweating.

"Monet does landscapes," he replied tightly. He bent over his work again, his eyes glancing up at me over his paper. His ice blue eyes were piercing, more so then usual. It seemed he was glimpsing my soul. This time, I was nervous and self-conscious, and fought the urge to cover up.

After what seemed like forever, he sighed and leaned back, visibly relaxing. "There. Done." I got off the couch and walked over to the kimono, slipping it on before plodding over to him. As I peered over his shoulder, I realized that the drawing was incredible. He had captured the girl on the couch so perfectly I had trouble believing she was me. He signed it, and at my prodding, dated it. I kissed him on the lips, then wrote a note saying "Now you can keep us both locked in your safe, darling," to Cal. I put both papers carefully in the safe, along with the necklace, and closed the door.

I got dressed again, Jack helping me with my corset and the laces on the back of my actual dress. I turned around in his arms and we kissed again, breaking apart quickly when we heard the key in the lock. Silently, I led Jack through the back towards the back door. I heard Cal's ghastly manservant calling out, "Mrs. Rose? Hello?" I opened the door, wincing when it squeaked. I hustled Jack out first and shut the door behind us. We were halfway down the hall when an angry bodyguard blew open the door and came stomping after us. I screamed, half laughing, and Jack and I broke into a run towards the elevators.

"Hurry up, take us down!" I told the operator. Jack slammed the grate shut and the startle operator took us down right as the manservant got to us. I gave him the finger as we lowered down, and got rewarded by his furious face and Jack's laughter.

We came around a corner and slumped on opposite sides of the hall, laughing uncontrollably. Catching our breaths, Jack gasped out, "Who is this guy, a cop or something?" I nodded, still breathing hard. It's no easy feat to run in a dress from that time period, let me tell you that!

"Cal's father hired him to keep Cal out of trouble," I explained. "To make sure he got back to the hotel with his wallet and watch, after a crawl through the less reputable parts of town."

"Kind of like we're doing now," Jack observed, bundling me to him and getting ready to kiss me. Then he looked over the top of my head. "Uh oh!" I spun around. The bodyguard was headed right for us, murder on his face. Giggling, I grabbed Jack's hand and we were running again, down an alley and into a room. Jack bolted the door right as the manservant banged into it. The only other way out was a ladder going down, a red glow emitting from its depths. Jack grinned at me. "After you, m'lady."

The ladder led down into a smoky boiler room. Roaring furnaces on either side of us, with men covered in coal shoveled the fuel into the fire. They stared at us through the hazy glow as we ran through, Jack shouting encouragement.

He pulled me into a less-populated area of the boiler room and pulled me to him, kissing me. I tasted his sweat and the smokiness of the room. When we pulled away, I felt a bit dizzy. That was not in the movie.

We ran into the cargo area, we slowed down a bit, to a walk. I shivered in the startling cold after the stifling heat of the furnaces and Jack put his arm around me. We came to a car, a really fancy, luxurious one, and I got in the back. Jack got into the driver's seat and honked the horn. It was really loud in the overwhelming silence. "Where to, miss?" he asked snobbishly. I sighed dreamily.

"To the stars." As Jack contemplated that, I reached forward and dragged him into the back seat with me. We sat there for a moment, me curled up on his lap, his body conforming to mine.

"Are you nervous?" he whispered. I knew what he was talking about, and a tremor ran through me.

"No."

He laid his hand on my cheek, caressing it. I took it off and kissed each of his fingers.

"Put your hands on me, Jack."

Minutes, maybe hours later, we were under Jack's overcoat. Both of us were shaky. The inside of the car was humid, the windows fogged. "You're trembling," I told Jack, putting my hand on his face. He smiled.

"I'll be alright."

He rested his head on my chest and we just lay there, both wondering at what had just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! Awkward part's over! Finally. It's getting to the sad part of the movie, though. I dunno whether to kill Jack or let him survive. Of course, my gut tells me, Let him live, and I love Jack too much to kill him! But letting him live gives way too many complications. Like, what are we gonna do with Jack after they get off? Cass has to get back somehow… right? And she certainly won't want to leave him… anyway, I don't own the movie, so enjoy the parts I did make up and the parts I put my own personal flair to!**

Cass's POV

A minute later, we stumbled onto the deck, laughing so hard we were crying. Our hands were still clasped and Jack pulled me towards him, letting go only to kiss me passionately. So, this is what it's like to be in love, I thought. I kissed him back, letting his warmth rid me of the night's chill. There were whistles coming from the lookout tower above us and I smiled against Jack's mouth.

We parted, reluctantly, staying in each others' arms. "When this ship docks, I'm getting off with you," I breathed, leaning my head into his shoulder. I didn't care that the movie ended and Jack was supposed to be dead when the ship docked. I would find a way to keep him alive and stay with him.

Jack laughed in surprise. "That's crazy!" he cried, looking down at me in disbelief. I nodded.

"I know. It doesn't make any sense!" I laughed, then quieted. "That's why I trust it." Jack looked at me, studying my face, then leaned down to me, kissing me gently, sweetly, then fiercer, almost as if he wanted to make sure I was there and to reassure himself. I kissed him back, clutching the back of his neck and pressing my lips to his.

Rosie's POV **(Hey, remember Rosie? The friend? This is why I included her! No character is just there because!)**

I looked out of my door sleepily, scratching my head and yawning. Why was everyone screaming? Then I saw the water creeping in and layering the floor, and was jolted immediately to full consciousness. I was the only one who knew this so far, but the Titanic was sinking!

Tommy and Fabrizio, two lower class men I recognized and had met throughout the course of the movie, (there was sort of a thing with me and Fabrizio, but he and I were having a bit of trouble understanding each other. You see, whenever I spoke, it was in Norwegian. I could understand Fabrizio, though) were shouting to follow the rats. I hurried after them. If the rats were scuttling one way, that was good enough for me.

Beth's POV

"What's going on?" I asked a passing steward after I felt a shudder run through the ship. He shrugged."

"We probably just threw a propeller blade, not to worry…" He walked away and I suppressed a shiver. I was one of the three people on board who knew at this point the ship was doomed. I needed to get to Cass! But as I stood up, I noticed a commotion in the middle of the room.

"There's no cause for alarm," the steward was telling a very angry looking man. I gasped, recognizing him. Cal! "Please, sir, go back to your room, there is no emergency…"

"Yes there is," Cal hissed, his bodyguard nodding. "I have been robbed!" I gasped. He was getting ready to frame Jack! Now I really needed to warn Cass. "Now, get the master at arms," the man continued. "Now, you moron!"

Cass's POV

Chunks of ice fell hard on the deck, and Jack pulled me away and out of the kiss before a large one hit me. I gasped, my eyes widening. It was all starting. The Titanic, the unsinkable ship, was sinking as we stood there. Below us, steerage boys were playing soccer with the ice, and people were tucking pieces into their pockets for souvenirs.

Three men brushed past us, their faces grim, discussing closing the emergency doors in low voices. Jack turned to me, his face serious. "It's bad." I nodded, pulling him into an embrace quickly before pulling away and looking him right in the eye.

"We have to tell mother and Cal," I said, trying to be stern and to keep the fear out of my voice. The ship was sinking… with us on it.

"Now it's worse," Jack groaned. I raised an eyebrow and he sighed, following me down into the ship.

We crossed the foyer, not quite sure where to start looking. Lovejoy, the bodyguard, was sitting in a chair, waiting for us. He snorted when he saw us. "We've been looking for you, miss." I resisted the urge to say, no duh, you chased us through half the Titanic, but restrained myself. We followed him down to the rooms then into Cal's, which adjoined to mine. Ruth and my fiancée were sitting and waiting, just as Lovejoy had.

"Something serious has happened," I began, looking at Ruth. The last time I had seen Cal was breakfast, and I wasn't quite sure I was ready to face him yet. Cal stood up, though, and walked towards me. I tensed and Jack looked at me. His face was taut, and he was ready to jump in front of me. I gave him a small smile and a teeny shake of the head. No, that wouldn't be the best thing to do. Reluctantly, Jack nodded back and relaxed a small fraction, never keeping his eyes off Cal.

"That's right," Cal said, looking from me to Jack and back. "Two things precious to me have disappeared this evening. Now that one's back…"

I hesitated for a beat. I wanted to say something, but it wasn't fitting with the script. Then I realized that if I was going to save Jack, I would need to start changing the script, and fast. So I gave in to impulse and cut Cal off. "You lousy grub! I may be your fiancée, but I am not a thing, nor am I going to listen to this drivel any longer. Jack and I are done with this."

Cal's eyes glittered malevolently. "Jack and you? Is that how it is now?" Jack growled low in his throat, and I tilted my head, my eyes narrowing as he continued. "As I was saying, I have a pretty good idea where to find the other." He pointed to Jack. "Search him."

The two men flanking the man patted Jack down, pulling off his jacket and going through it. "This is horseshit," Jack cried as he was told to remove his shoes. "No!"

"Cal, you cannot be serious," I raged. "We are in the middle of an emergency and you…"

"Is this it?" the master at arms interrupted, holding up the Heart of the Ocean, just as I knew he would. Jack looked stunned. Cal nodded and the master at arms handcuffed Jack, trying to pull him out of the room.

"Rose! Don't believe it!" he shouted, struggling against the men trying to pull him out of the room.

"I know!" I cried. "I know, Jack!" Cal's face was stone cold as Jack was pulled out of the room, hollering and kicking.

"And how do you know? It would be easy enough for a professional." Cal was obviously trying to make me doubt Jack, and I was not going to give. At this part in the movie, I didn't like Rose. She doubted her love. Plus I had one up on Cal- I knew what he had done and what happened.

"Because I was with him the whole time," I retorted. Cal frowned and leaned close to me, making me cringe away.

"Maybe he did it while you were putting on your clothes," he said frigidly. I made a face at him and shook my head.

"He didn't do it," I insisted.

Cal turned away. "Women," he muttered. At that extremely sexist comment, I did what I had wanted to do that whole conversation. I kicked him as hard as I could in the leg and let go of all the steam I had been holding inside, calling him unprintable words and all sorts of interesting insults I found Rose knew. Cal's face froze and he yanked me into the other room, away from my shocked mother.

"You little slut," he hissed, and slapped me hard across the face. The second time he had hit me, and this time I hadn't even felt it. I was too angry. "Look at me you little whore!" he cried, and I slowly turned my head to look him in the eye.

"I was only doing what you wanted me to do with you, anyway," I said sweetly, overdoing it enough for it to make him step back a pace, my steely glare not matching up. "Does it make me a slut if I sleep with a man that isn't you, Cal? I don't sleep around, no sir. You're only mad I denied you." Cal's face was a mask of rage now, and I was sure he would have hit me if a steward hadn't come in and handed us lifejackets and orders to put them on as a precaution.

Rosie's POV

Stewards were rushing everywhere, trying to get everyone lifebelts and generally causing chaos. Rats were running between everyone's feet, children were crying, and I had tied up my dress around my legs. The swirling water was now up to my knees. Fabrizio had his arm around my waist and was pulling me away.

Cass's POV

I ran out to the foyer ahead of Cal, looking for Mr. Andrews, the designer of the ship. When I found him, I asked him, breathless and to make sure I wasn't panicking over nothing, although I was almost positive the ship was sinking, "I saw the iceberg, Mr. Andrews, and I see it in your eyes." Indeed, his eyes were full of sorrow and wild fear. "Please, tell me the truth."

"The ship will sink," Mr. Andrews confided, his voice trembling and his eyes avoiding mine. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. The movie wasn't changing, not yet. I was almost certain that I couldn't change the course of the Titanic a moment ago, but now I was entirely sure. My only hope was to save who I could. "Please tell only who you must. I don't want to be responsible for a panic. And get to a boat quickly. You remember what I told you about the boats?"

And I did. There were only enough for less then half of all people onboard. Many would drown as the sea swept into the boat, trapped in a room or unable to get to a boat in time. Many would freeze, caught in the cold water with nothing to do but float in their life jackets and wait for a rescue that wouldn't come in time. I shivered. "Yes. I understand." I turned away, then paused. "Thank you."

I rushed Ruth and Cal out to the deck, where they were already loading people in. "Women and children only!" the crewmen were crying, helping first class women and children into small boats. A band was playing lively, cheerful music, as though we weren't all sinking to our deaths, we were simply at dinner.

"My brooch," Ruth said suddenly. "I left my brooch. I must have it." I turned to Ruth as she began to walk away. Typical of her to be thinking of riches and material things while she was in mortal danger. But before I could say anything, Cal caught her arm.

"Stay here, Ruth," he commanded. Ruth looked at him, and a wave of pure terror rushed across her features. For once in her life, she was truly afraid, and, despite myself, I felt a wave of… something rush through me for Cal. I hated him. I really, truly did, but he seemed to really care about Ruth, and that made me see him as more of a human being.

Fireworks were exploding overhead. The music and booming of the exploding rockets were settling even more firmly a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I recognized all of this from the movie. I realized for the first time what was happening, and I fought off a wave of panic. The Titanic was sinking. I was going to watch.

Molly Brown was helping a terrified woman board a rocking lifeboat, and Ruth was back to her old ways, muttering something about boarding by class. I turned to her, no longer able to constrain myself. "Oh, mother, shut up!" Ruth froze with her mouth open. "Don't you understand? The water is freezing, and there aren't enough boats, not enough by half. Half of the people on this ship are going to die."

"Not the better half." This comment came from behind me and I wheeled around to find Cal standing there smugly. All sentimental feelings of him being even remotely human washed away and I stared at him, struggling to find my voice.

Finally, I spit out, "You unimaginable bastard."

Molly looked at me after helping Ruth settle herself in. "C'mon, Rose. You're next, darlin'." I looked at her, brave Molly Brown, then at my mother. Then, slowly and deliberately, I shook my head. Ruth told me to get in the boat, joining in with Molly, but I just kept shaking my head and backing away.

"Goodbye, Mother." I brushed past Cal and began to speed walk through the crowd. Cal caught up to me and grabbed my arm roughly, bruising it. I tried to pull away but I couldn't. His grip was much too strong, almost violent.

"Where are you going?" he hissed, trying to push me towards the boat. "To him, is that it?" I knew Cal wasn't faking his betrayal, but he was only betrayed because a woman wouldn't obey him. He looked me up and down, then spit out, "To be a whore to that gutter rat?" He really wasn't learning.

"I'd rather be his whore then your wife," I retorted spitefully. Cal clenched his jaw, and I was surprised to find I had caused him real pain. Then he pulled me forcefully towards the lifeboat. I don't think it was a gesture to save my life; I believe he just wanted to keep me away from Jack. But I also have many reasons to hate Cal, and I may be being unfair in that assumption. Anyway, knowing either one was true would still have spurred me to do what I did. I leaned my head back, hocked a loogie like Jack had taught me to, and spit in his face. Cal's grip loosened and I sped away, losing him in the crowd.

I found Andrews in the hallway, opening suite doors to check if anyone was still inside. "Mr. Andrews, thank god! Where would a Master at Arms keep someone who's been arrested?" I didn't know why I had stalled so long ion finding Jack. That should have been my top priority.

"What?" Mr. Andrews asked, staring at me in bewildered horror. "Rose, you need to get on a boat right away!"

"No!" I cried. "Mr. Andrews, I am doing this with or without your help. Without will take longer." Andrews stared at me for a long moment, and I held my breath. Please, please, please…

Finally, the man sighed. "Take the elevator to the very bottom. Go left, down the crewman's passage. Then, make a right." I nodded and repeated the directions back to him. Then we wished each other good luck and I sprinted down the corridor to the elevators, where an operator was closing up. He looked up at me with a regretful expression.

"Sorry miss, lifts are closed," he began. I stared at him for half a second. Then, everything inside me, all the tension and frustration and anger I had been holding inside blew through me. I pushed him inside the lift and held him against the wall by his shirt collar.

"I am through with being polite, god dammit! I may never be polite for the rest of my life! Now, take me down!" Thoroughly frightened, the operator pulled the lever and we sank below the decks, watching each one go by.

Suddenly, the floor was filled with water rushing in. I screamed with shock, then opened the door and hurried out. The operator got out of there and the lift rose up as I hauled my now waterlogged skirt to my hips. I slogged down the hall. Left… Right… The stupid dress was slowing me down, but I had nothing to hurry for yet. "Jack?" I asked. "Jack?" I raised my voice, letting my cries fill the empty hall.

I waited, then called again. This time, a call answered me. "Rose? Rose, I'm in here! Rose!" A clanging sound filled my ears. I grinned illogically and began to splash through the water. After a while of no progress, I cursed, "Oh, dammit," and tore off my dress. The water-filled fabric sank to rest at the bottom of the now thigh-deep water. The petticoat was a lot easier to deal with, and it wasn't like it was completely indecent, even if by the slight chance I would meet anyone down here. I then began to run toward Jack, and threw open a door to find Jack, alone and handcuffed to a giant pipe. It was the width of my thigh and I stared at it hopelessly. Then I looked up at Jack. His eyes were bright, and I splashed over to fit perfectly in his arm.

"Jack," I whispered. "Jack, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…" I knew Jack would think I thought he did it, but I would save the explaining for later. I kissed him, and we stuttered along what seemed like an all-too-happy greeting. Thank God, I thought. The first time I had a chance to save Jack. I could not mess this up. Our lives depended on it.

"See if you can find a key for these," Jack said, I looked around. I knew there would be no keys. So, I made up a story to convince him. I could not waste time. On a sinking ship, time was worth lives. Literally. I knew what would happen. I was going to use that knowledge if I could. It was my only true weapon.

"Jack, they never kept spare keys for handcuffs. It's stupid, but they really didn't. Only the Master at Arms had a key, and I think maybe someone else, but that's it." I watched Jack's face drop, and was almost unable to bear it. I'm saving his life, I reminded myself. I need to save his life. That is all that matters right now. To change the future, to keep my Jack alive. "Jack, I'm going to have to go for help." I remembered how the help thing went, but as of the moment, there was nothing I could do. Jack nodded.

"I'll stay here," he said wryly. I laughed and kissed him once more, holding onto him for longer then really necessary. Then I reluctantly splashed away. If I couldn't help him, if I couldn't make him live, I wanted all the time I could get with him. I loved him.

"Help," I yelled, coming out into the deserted hallway. The water was freezing and I was shivering. I dunno about Rose, but I was always cold sensitive. Now, I was in nothing but a petticoat and standing in ice water almost up to my waist. I ran up the stairs and into another long corridor. The ship groaned and creaked and I began to cry, not like a baby or in grief, but in anger. Where the hell was everyone? The stewards? The staff? I was out of the water but still cold, shivering violently. I turned into another corridor and almost fell. This one was tiling into the water, glittering maliciously in the going light.

Out of nowhere, a young man pelted past me, running at top speed out of the water. "Help!" I cried. "We need help!" He didn't even pause, just ran away. The ship creaked again, and the lights flickered, leaving me in a moment of darkness. I stood there. Oh my god. What if the lights didn't come back on? What if I had to wade through the cold, dark water, unable to find my way back to Jack, and what if we both died? What would happen if I died, anyway? Would I truly be dead, or would I go back to my real life in the modern time?

Then the lights flickered back on, and I saw a steward running around the corner. He stopped, shocked, then grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "Come on, then. Let's get you topside, miss, that's right."

"Wait. Wait! I need your help…"

"No need for panic, miss, come along!"

"No, let me go! You're going the wrong way!" He wasn't listening, I thought wildly. He wasn't going to let me go, he wasn't going to help Jack… I punched him square in the nose. He let me go and staggered away, his nose bleeding.

"To hell with you, then!" he cried, and ran away. I slumped against the wall.

"I'll see you there!" I spat after him. Then I turned and saw the fire ax. I broke the glass with a hose, and grabbed it. This was my last chance. As Cal had said, a true man (or, woman) makes his/her luck. I was going to have to do that myself.

I turned and ran back the way I came, scared to death but determined. Jack would not die. I couldn't let him. What would I be without him? He had made me not a stupid little fourteen-year-old, but a mature young woman. I wasn't even sure I was fourteen anymore. I was closer to seventeen.

The stairs were flooded up the fifth step when I got there. I grimaced, then waded into the water again. It was now covering my chest. I hefted the ax over my head and plunged forward. The water was so cold it was painful, like daggers stabbing me all over.

Jack had clambered up onto a bench when I got back to him. "Will this work?" I asked, showing him the weapon. He looked at it, then at me, and I saw the desolate look in his eyes.

"We'll find out," he replied. He positioned his hands on either side of the pipe, the chain stretched out taut between them. I looked at it. Oh, god, how was I going to hit that and not his hands? "Try a couple of practice swings," he urged, and I did, thunking the blade into a wooden cabinet. "Alright, now hit that mark again." I did, and it landed about a foot away. Jack and I stared at it. "Okay… enough practice," Jack said, very aware of the swirling water rising steadily around me.

He winced, looking at my grip on the ax. "Um, choke up a bit. That's it," he praised as I moved my hands up on the handle. "You can do it, Rose. Hit it as hard as you can. I trust you." I looked up at him, but he was already squeezing his eyes shut. Oh, thanks, Jack, I thought. Thanks. No pressure at all. But I lifted the ax, and with all my strength, banged it hard down.

**I decided Rosie wasn't going to just be a random girl in steerage. Fabrizio originally was trying to flirt with a Norwegian girl named Helga, before all her scenes got cut. So, I stuck her back in, but as Rosie. Anyway, thank you to JessikAK for the awesome feedback! And thank you to everyone who's stuck with Cass for this long!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! Thanks so much for commenting everyone who did… I love getting feedback! I think I'm gonna start changing the story now… let me know what you think of the changes! **

Beth's POV

I shivered in the air as I ran through the hallways. Where would Cass be? I couldn't find her! Plus, I wasn't even sure what part of the movie we were at. Did Jack already get arrested? Did Jack already drown? No, the ship would be gone.

I hurried down another set of stairs and screamed when I plunged into freezing cold water. My cry echoed out through the empty hall. How would I ever find her? The ship was so big! I shivered. It was also sinking. I had to find them fast. I began to wade down the hall. The water was so cold. I began to cry from the pain and desperation.

I came to a room that had the door open a crack. There were people talking inside! Relieved, I pushed the entrance open, brushed away my tears, and grinned. "Cass," I yelled, grabbing her arm. She swore and turned, dropping the axe she had been hefting into the water. Behind her, Jack was standing, his wrists cuffed to a pipe.

"Beth!" she yelled, and hugged me. "Goddammit, what is your problem? I could have hurt someone!"

"Watch your language," I chastised, but she ignored me, bending down to reach the axe.

"Beth, I have to free Jack from this pipe," she chattered. Then her face fell. "Seriously, though, we're gonna freeze to death. I gotta do this." She hefted the axe again, and I stepped back hastily. "Here goes nothing," she murmured, and squeezed her eyes shut, bringing the blade down hard.

Jack opened his eyes. His hands were there. Shocked, he lifted them. The chain was gone, the only trace left behind being the manacles on his wrists. I gasped and Cass yelped, then rushed forward, dropping the axe, and kissed Jack. Awkwardly, I cleared my throat. Um, older sister in the room. They ignored me, Jack hugging my sister tightly.

"Way to go, Paul Bunyan," he said once they had separated. I snickered, expecting him to get a chastising. To my surprise, she just smiled and kissed him again. Hey, where'd my sister go? Cass helped him into the water. "Shit, this is cold!" he yelped. "Shit, shit, shit, shit…"

"Jack, meet my… good friend, Beth," Cass said, getting the intros over with. "Beth, this is Jack." I nodded, my eyes looking him up and down, my instinctive hurt my sister and I kill you feelings kicking in. He shifted.

"Um, hi?" he said, holding out his hand. I took it, a bit uncomfortable. This was Jack. I was shaking hands with Jack, the star of Titanic. Jack was my sister's boyfriend. Oh, God. I breathed in and out, deeply, a nervous tic. I felt kind of faint, and I needed to talk to Cass. But before I could get a word in, Cass led the way out into the freezing cold water outside.

The water was now so high we had to almost swim. At the staircase, we couldn't even get up. "That's too deep," I observed, and Cass rolled her eyes at me. She didn't say anything, though, which made me confused. Back home, she would seize any opportunity to insult me. Here, she seemed to have learned manners.

It kind of unsettled me.

Cass's POV

I led the way through a door, crashing it open into crowded hall, passengers milling about like refugees. We stumbled through, Beth following us, dumbstruck. I ignored her. My main goal was to save Jack, which I would do at any cost to my own life. Plus, I wasn't too worried about Beth. My best guess was that when we died here, we went back to the modern world. So even if she died, she would be fine. Jack, however, would really die.

A steward marched over. "Hey, what do ya think you're doing? You're gonna have to pay for that, you are. That's White Star Line property…" Jack and I turned back to face him. We were tired and fed up with any employees on this ship.

"Shut up!" we cried in unison. As we stalked away, following the crowd, I realized that was part of the movie. Was all my effort going to waste? Would my lover die, no matter what I did? I shook my head to clear it. No. I couldn't think that way, or I really would give up.

As we walked through the increasingly thick crowd, an Irishwoman stopped me. "Here, lass, cover up," she said, handing me a blanket. I thanked her, suddenly aware of how the petticoat was soaked and clinging to my skin. Wrapping the blanket around my shoulders, I smiled up at Jack when he rubbed my shoulders. The woman's husband handed me a flask.

"This'll take the chill off," he explained. Beth stepped forward, still in her gown, and opened her mouth to protest. I swigged down a few swallows before she could, and thanked the man, handing the flask to Jack, who grinned and downed some too. Beth refused it, a disgusted look on her face. Jack shrugged and held it out to the man, who took it with a nod.

Once we had sufficiently pushed our way through the crowd and out of earshot, Beth began her lecture. "One," she hissed "That was alcohol. You are underage. That's illegal. Two, you don't know that man! He drank out of that flask!" I turned to her. I was tired of her griping.

"Look," I said. "I'm not underage here. I have had plenty of champagne at dinner, and I am sure you have too." Beth's ears turned pink at this. "Also, I don't care that we were strangers. That's what people did then. I mean, now. Whatever. I was cold. Freezing, actually. So shut up and just go with it." I left Beth stunned behind me and marched up to Jack, who was talking to a familiar redhead.

Rosie's POV

I looked over the man's shoulder and saw a very wet, very surprised Cass. "Hey!" I cried, running past the confused man. "Cass!" Cass's eyes widened and she shook her head slightly as the man turned to me, confused.

"Um? Why are you talking like that?" she asked, and I remembered that I could only speak in Norwegian. Oh… that was why the man was confused and didn't understand what I was saying. Oopsies. Thank God, Fabrizio came over.

"She's Norwegian," he explained to Jack after Jack yelled out and they hugged like brothers. "We get along well with hand gestures but she doesn't speak English." I sighed and rolled my eyes at Cass, who grinned.

"What's her name?" she asked, and I saw Beth come up behind her. Fabrizio answered as Beth tried to speak to me, and I just shook my head and said a few garbled words. They came out Norwegian. Beth's brow cleared and she nodded.

"Helga," Fabrizio said, stepping towards the group, "this is…" he looked at Cass questioningly, and I grinned as she said Rose. Enjoying her role, was she? I nodded at Beth as she grumpily said her name, and then staggered back as the man introduced himself as Jack Dawson. Now I really looked at him. Wow, it was! He looked exactly like Leonardo Dicaprio when he was younger! Jack looked confused, so I tried to explain, using lots of hand gestures, a bad lie.

"I," I pointed to me, "Helga," I pointed to my head, "knew," and pointed to him, "you," then shrugged. "I think." Jack frowned, then guessed exactly what I was trying to say. I nodded enthusiastically and Cass grinned, winking at me. I relaxed; I was relieved I had gotten that point across.

"The boats are all going," Fabrizio sighed, and I did too, frustrated that I couldn't explain that it was only women and children. Why weren't Beth and Cass?

Cass's POV

Maybe it was good Rosie couldn't talk in English, I mused. She would tell everything that happened, then we would have to explain, and then the whole thing would be a mess, because how do you tell two men that they are going to die? Instead, I had an idea. I really, really hoped that when we died, we woke up in the real world. Rosie was going to be the guinea pig.

"We're gotta get up there or we're gonna be gargling seawater," Jack said, then asked the man (I'm assuming he was Fabrizio, from Jack's reaction to his presence), "where's Tommy?" I remembered him! He's the one that said Jack would never get me! I waited anxiously to meet that man, but Fabrizio just pointed to the gates, where Tommy (it was him!) was having a furious argument with a steward. Is it just me, or do stewards ruin everything? I shook my head, but raised my eyebrows when Tommy stepped back, obviously pleased, and the steward opened the grate holding the crowd back from the upper deck.

"Women and children only! No men! No…" but he was cut off by the swarm of men and women, panicked, trying to save their own lives. The crew tried to push them back, punching and shoving as they closed the gates. This caused uproar. "Get back, you lot!" the steward cried over it all, brandishing a revolver.

"For the love of God, man, there are children down here!" Tommy cried. "Let us up so we have a chance!" I suddenly realized how fast we'd drown locked up here, and my stomach plummeted. I shivered and Jack put his arm around me, squeezing me close. Tommy made his way down to us, angry and defeated. "It's hopeless that way," he admitted. "They aren't human. No human would lock up women and children."

"Well, whatever we're gonna do, we'd better do it fast," Jack urged, eyeing the layer of water creeping towards the foot of the staircase. Fabrizio turned to Rosie, his face desperate.

"Come with me. Please. We're going to the boats. Capito? Understand?" He was trying so hard to make himself understood, but I couldn't let her go with us. Something told me if Rosie stayed here, she would escape a lot of the further suffering that would happen. When she caught my eye, I shook my head. Please trust me, I mouthed. She nodded and shook her head, stepping forward and kissing Fabrizio. His face fell and Beth rolled her eyes. She was the only one without a romance. Jack laid a hand on Fabrizio's shoulder.

"Let's go," he said. Fabrizio looked ready to cry, but he nodded sadly.

"I will never forget you," he whispered, and that made me want to cry. In the beginning of the movie, that's what he had said, lightly teasing Jack for waving to no one as the ship disembarked. Later, I knew, Fabrizio would die. So would Helga.

Jack led us through the crowd, leading the group to another exit.

**So, I got over the first sad part. I may put some third person in the next part, so I can get everything sad in there, but don't count on it. Poor Fabrizio!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I cried when writing this, so if you cry, it's not just you. Everything starts to get sad from here. Spoiler: people die in this chapter. Oh, and if you really want to hear a song that makes you think of Titanic, listen to Between Temptation: Memories. Memories is the name of the song. **

The next stairwell we came to was smaller then the first, but had way less people, too. A scared steward was telling everyone to go to the main stairwell. They were all in a huddle, trying to argue in all sorts of different languages. I could feel Jack tensing beside me. Finally, he exploded with an impressive stream of common swears that I could tell he really meant. This was my first time seeing Jack angry, and I was impressed. He didn't lose his cool. He just swore and did what was actually rational-ish.

"God damn it to hell, son of a bitch!" he cried, and began to yank at the side of a bench bolted into the floor. Tommy and Fabrizio joined in, and Beth and I began to clear a path through the people once we realized what they were going to do. Beth had been unusually silent, but now she was yelling and gesturing, getting people out of the way.

The men rammed the bench into the gate after they had freed it, then again, and the gate fell over, off the rail. The group streamed through, the steward unable to do anything about it.

We let the flow carry us up to the first class deck, where there was a group of musicians playing a suite. I remembered them playing from earlier. Fabrizio chuckled ironically and said, "Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in first class." I laughed. So did Jack and Beth.

We came upon a family of a mother and two girls getting into the boat. The father was trying not to cry and handing his little girl to the woman, who was also crying. "Hold mommy's hand and be a good girl," he told the crying toddler. "This is a boat for the mummies. There's another boat for the daddies coming soon. Bye, sweetie. I love you." Jack looked around. That was the last boat on this side. "You'd better go and check the other side," he told his two buddies. They nodded and Beth took a deep breath.

"Wait, I'm coming." She gave me a hug and then hurried after the two men. I squeezed my eyes shut. Please, please let her be safe, I thought. Even if she has to die in this time period. Let her get home safely.

Rosie's POV

I screamed as the crowd surged forward, trying to escape the ice water. It flowed faster now, and soon, even on the top step, I was knee deep in it. I began to cry. Oh, Cass, please, I hope you know what you're doing, I thought desperately. My skirt swirled around me. Babies were screaming and women crying, men trying not to but still leaking a tear. A little girl next to me clung to me, and I picked her up. Then I took another look at her. It was Cora. I recognized her from the movie. I hugged her, picking her up, and tried to share my little warmth as the water creeped up my chest. I couldn't cry anymore, I was shivering too violently. It was silent now, and I realized that the babies had all already died. As the water closed over my head, I succumbed to the blackness that had already taken little limp Cora.

Cass's POV

Jack looked at me expectantly. "Rose, get in the boat," he ordered. I shook my head. No effing way.

"I'm not going without you," I replied, planting myself firmly to the ground.

"Get in the boat, Rose," a voice said behind me. It was Cal. I turned and looked at him. The piece of filth, trying to get me in the boat? He probably only wanted whatever dowry I had. I stepped closer to Jack, and my lover put him arm around me protectively. Cal looked like he was in pain.

"My god," he said, trying to hide his hurt, "look at you! Here, put this on." He shrugged out of his coat and handed it to me. I knew it was because I was in a wet slip and stockings, but I put it on anyway. The chill wind was biting right to my bones.

"Quickly, ladies, step into the boat. Hurry!" the crewman urged, motioning for me to get in the boat. I looked up, tilting my head back to look at Jack.

"No. Not without you," I said between clenched teeth. "And you," I began, turning to Cal. "I know what you're going to say, and I know there isn't a boat waiting for you and Jack. Maybe you, you would be the kind to bribe someone into letting you on the ship, but not Jack. They aren't letting men on, and you hate Jack." As Cal's face turned pale, I ranted on. "I'm not a complete idiot, you know, Cal. I know when and when not to trust you and you're as easy to read as a book."

Aha. I knew my Titanic! I had found a way to stop Cal from coaxing me onto the boat, and without giving an unbelievable excuse. Plus, it was worth the look on Cal's face.

Suddenly, he picked my bodily up and almost threw me into the boat. "I am not going to let you die, Rose," he said, hissing it into my face. I was so shocked, I did nothing. "You are getting on this boat." As the boat began to lower, I began to scream Jack's name over and over. Cal's smug face and Jack's shocked, handsome features was the last thing I saw before the upper deck was out of sight.

I took a deep breath and in those few seconds, made a quick and final decision. I jumped onto the ship, hanging onto the rail for a few seconds, then hauling myself over and tumbling to the deck. I ran through the crowd, weaving among shocked passengers and looking desperately for Jack. He met me in the foyer, and we collided, embracing each other tightly.

"Rose, you're so stupid, Rose, why did you do that, huh?" he asked in between kissing me. Finally, he held my face an arm's lengths away from him, as if reassuring himself I was real. I smiled, tears coursing down my cheeks.

"You jump, I jump, right?" I said. Jack just looked at me, then pressed me to him. I closed my eyes and hugged him tightly, reveling in the feeling of his body under my arms.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the cherub statue next to us exploded. I looked up to see Cal, a murderous look in his eyes, pointing a gun at Jack. Jack and I ran, trying to hide behind everything we could as the madman fired over and over. Finally, we reached the stairs going down, and sloshed through the freezing cold ice water. It was up to Jack's waist, and just under my chest. We stood for a while, breathing, shocked.

Rosie's POV

I woke up in a dark room, a noise playing by my ear. Slowly, hopefully, I opened my eyes. The sleeping figures of Cass and Beth were slumped on the couch and floor. I sighed and looked at the TV, trying to see what part the movie that had inspired my nightmare was on.

I did a double take. Cass and Jack were trying to save a little boy, who was crying his eyes out.

It wasn't a nightmare. To wake up, you had to die.

I shuddered and turned all my attention to the screen.

**Please R&R!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm going to cry when I write this chapter, I just know it! Please R&R so I know I'm not alone in thinking this is incredibly sad, and thank you to Frieda van den Huetten, Blondiee Leah, and JessikaK for reviewing (Blondiee Leah also for sticking with the story throughout the entire time I was writing, even from the first chapter- thanks!) I want to explain Rosie's character. At first, I was just going to have two sisters, but I figured I needed a high class person that wasn't Rose and a lower class person. I had also always wondered how little Cora died (you know, being comforted, alone, drowning, etc.), so I wanted her to have someone to comfort her and watch Beth and Cass in the movie. Thus, Rosie!**

Cass's POV

A little boy was crying at the end of the hallway, obviously alone and in need of help. Here the water was shallower, up to the small child's waist, but the water level was rising rapidly. Jack looked at me, and it was obvious he was battling with his urge to get me to safety and his want to help the boy. "We can't leave him," I told Jack, who nodded tensely and ran over to the screaming child, scooping him up and running towards the stairs. I ran after them, then screamed and stopped as a flood of water cascaded down the stairs. Jack pivoted and this time I was leading. But then we saw the door was bulging and beginning to crack under the weight of the water behind it, and seawater was spraying out from the cracks around the door and the doorframe.

"Back! Go back!" Jack yelled, and we ran into an adjoining corridor. Suddenly, a man ran past us, saw the boy in Jack's arms, and snatched the kid away, shouting at us in Russian and then running to the doors. "No!" Jack and I shouted, screaming for him to come back. Suddenly, the doors burst open and a torrent of water rushed at us, sweeping the father off his feet and swallowing the two. I didn't even have time to scream or begin to cry because suddenly Jack and I were running from the wall of white water, running desperately for our lives.

We pounded up stairs until we came to another metal grate just in time to see a steward hurrying up the stairs beyond us. "Help!" we yelled, our voices hoarse. Below us, the water was no longer flowing at a deadly speed, but was flowing fast enough to reach our feet in minutes. The man turned back, then began to go on… and stopped.

"Goddammit," he cursed, and hurried back to us, splashing against the layer of water that was flowing past our knees. He pulled out a ring of keys and began to fumble through them, trying a bunch of them with shaking hands. As the water rose to our waists, I yelled out.

"Give them to me!" I snatched the keys out of his hands. "Run- save yourself!" He nodded gratefully and sped up the stairs. I picked a random key, stuck it in the lock, and turned. The grate gave way and Jack and I tumbled out, then ran up the stairs after the disappearing steward.

Beth's POV

"Give us a chance to live, you limey bastards!" Tommy yelled from next to me. The officer shot his gun twice into the air, then pointed it right at Tommy. I gasped as Fabrizio stepped in front of me to shield me.

"I'll shoot any man who tries to get past me," the officer shouted. Cal stepped up and pointed his index finger in the man's face.

"We had a deal, damn you," Cal hissed. The officer stared at him for a moment, then drew out of his pocket a wad of bills. He threw them into a startled Cal's face.

"Take your money," he growled. "Get back!" A man pushed past Tommy and ran forward. Tommy ran after him, but the officer didn't even hesitate. He put a bullet first through the runner's chest, then through Tommy's life vest. I screamed and caught Tommy as he fell, but the area around the bullet hole was already stained red, and Tommy's body was limp in my arms. The officer stepped back as I looked up at him, and my horrified face mirrored his for a moment. Then he walked, almost in a daze, to the edge of the ship, saluted smartly to his shocked men, and put the pistol to his head. A moment later, he was falling to the waves below. Cal stared at the officer's body floating on the water, then growled and turned away.

Rosie's POV

I watched, almost afraid, as Cass and Jack rounded the corner. My face was streaked with grieving tears from watching Officer Murdoch commit suicide, then angry tears as I watched Cal use that little girl to get on a lifeboat. How dare he live, when Cora died? When I died? When Jack would die?

Andrews was standing by the mantelpiece in the smoking room. There was no other person in the room, just him, and he looked at his watch, then sadly turned the clock to accurately portray the time. Jack and Cass ran into the room, where Cass suddenly stopped in horror.

"Won't you even make a try for it, Mr. Andrews?" she asked, obviously hoping that the answer she knew she was going to get wasn't the one he was going to give her. Jack looked restless, upset.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make you a stronger ship, young Rose," he said wearily, sighing heavily. A tear ran down Cass's cheek, and she walked up to Andrews and kissed the older man on the cheek. "Good luck," he told her.

"And o you, Mr. Andrews," she replied, then accepted the life vest Andrews held out to her and allowed Jack to pull her away. They ran through the revolving door.

The scene switched and I growled in frustration at my friends being wiped from the screen. The only reason I was watching now was to see how they were doing- I needed Beth to come back, and Cass to do whatever it took to save Cass and Jack. The only bad thing they could do now was stay in that ship of suffering.

Captain Smith filled the screen. The man walked into his steering cabin, ignoring the life vest the crewman held out to him, and slumped, somehow, while still standing upright.

Again, the scene switched. An elderly couple were holding hands in their bed, the woman curled up on her side and the man staring up at the ceiling, as the water rose up around them. I began to sob.

The scene switched. A young Irish mother was telling her children a bedtime story. I recognized them from the stairs. She had comforted her children, telling them all would be alright. Now she was doing the same as the water rose quickly behind her.

The scene switched. Beth had put on Tommy's life vest, which Fabrizio had given her, and she and Fabri were holding hands. I swallowed a lump in my throat. Oh, Fabrizio. I was sorry I wasn't there with him.

The scene switched. The windows busted as Captain Smith grabbed the steering wheel. The water engulfed him entirely.

The scene switched. Fabrizio and Beth were now swimming frantically in the water.

The scene switched, and I could see Cass and Jack again finally. They climbed to the top of the tilting ship, weaving through the crowd.

The scene switched. Beth and Fabrizio were crushed by a falling pillar and I screamed as they didn't resurface. I knew then that Fabri had died. I knew it because next to me, Beth was stirring.

Cass's POV

I pulled on my life vest as we got stuck behind a man praying. People all around us were jumping into the water. "…As I walk through the valley in the shadow of death," he mumbled, crossing himself and inching forward.

"D'ya wanna walk a little faster through that valley, fella?" Jack asked, and I was too tired to laugh. We were suddenly on the poop deck, and climbing an almost vertical wall of people. People were losing their handholds or jumping and falling into the water, Some hit little obstacles and were hurt or killed. A group was huddled in around a priest, who was droning on. Some people were even clinging to him. Suddenly, I knew what we had to do.

"Jack, come here," I said sharply, and pulled him towards the priest.

"Rose, we can't expect God to do all the work here," he protested, but I just shook my head and climbed over to the father.

"Sir, we need to be married." I said this as frankly as I could to the startled man, who quickly shook himself and nodded.

"What?" Jack asked, looking at me, astounded.

"Can we skip the crap before the I Dos?" I asked, ignoring my startled lover. The priest nodded and began to talk, guiding us through the vows.

"Do you…" he looked expectantly at Jack, who gulped and said his name in a voice choked with emotion. "Jack Dawson, take this woman to be you wedded wife?"

"I do," Jack said.

"And do you…"

"Rose Dewitt-Bukater."

"Rose Dewitt-Bukater, take this man to be your wedded husband?"

"I do," I said.

"You may kiss the bride," the father said, and Jack shook his head.

"Uh, we gotta save that for when we're safe," he replied, and pulled me past the priest. "C'mon, Rose, we gotta keep moving!"

We clambered all the way to the top of the ship, where we climbed over the rail and looked down at the water rushing up at us. I was literally lying down as the ship was pulled down. "This is where we first met, Jack," I gasped, half laughing as I recognized this as where Jack had pulled me over the rail. It seemed like years ago.

Jack stared at me. Then, he leaned in and his lips met mine, sealing our wedding vows. I was now Mrs. Jack Dawson. What would my mother back in the 21st century say?

"Okay," Jack said, talking fast once we had pulled apart. "Take a deep breath and hold it right before we hit the water. The ship will suck us down. Kick for the surface and keep kicking. Don't let go of my hand. We're gonna make it, Rose. Trust me."

I nodded, squeezing his hand as the water rushed up towards us. "I trust you," I answered. Jack grinned at me, then, as the water sped towards our faces, he told me to hold my breath. The water sucked us down and I felt my hand being ripped away from Jack's. I kicked to the surface desperately.

Beth's POV

I looked groggily up at Rosie. "What…" I began, but she held her finger to her lips and was looking at the TV screen intently.

"It was real," she said, talking fast and softly. "All of it. When you die, you wake up here. I think Cass knew that, and that's why she told me to stay behind when you all left. But she's changing the movie right now. She just married Jack! She's trying to keep him alive, I can tell. Now shush and watch the movie." All her focus went to the movie and I looked, dumbstruck, at the scene.

Cass's POV

I grabbed at Jack. "Jack!" I yelled, and he whipped around, relief showing plainly in his face. "Jack…" I said as he swam to me and grabbed my hand.

"C'mon Rose, swim this way," he said, and began to pull me in the direction I knew the board would be.

"No," I yelled. "We have to go this way." I began to pull him in the direction of the lifeboats. I knew where to find them, but only because I knew where they assembled from research. No one else would know where we were headed. Jack followed me as I swam in easy strokes towards the boats. I was on the swim team in my school, so this was no problem for me. The only thing giving me trouble was my life jacket, so I shrugged it off and gave it to a woman floundering about without one.

I looked desperately around. Where were they? Then I saw them, small in the distance. "C'mon Jack," I urged, turning to him. His lips were turning blue and frost was forming in our hair. "Do you see them? We can't give up, Jack. We can't."

He nodded and we swam faster, faster towards the lifeboats. They weren't so far away now, but we were slowing down. "Help!" I tried to yell, but my voice came out weak and tired. "Jack, come on," I said, turning to him. His face was drawn and scary pale. No… no… we were almost there.

We swam some more, and finally reached the first lifeboat. A woman shouted out, and hands reached out to help us on. I remembered the end of Titanic… Six were saved from the water… make that seven, I thought, exhaustedly accepting the coat a woman held out to me and falling into a blissful sleep, leaning against my Jack…

Rosie's POV

"Oh my god, she did it," I whispered. The screen was showing the two lovers sleeping peacefully together. Both of them. Alive. She had saved Jack. Next to me, Beth drew in a gasp.

"My little sister saved Jack…" she breathed. I nodded and we watched in awe as the little boat reached the Carpathia.

Cass's POV

I woke up in a dark room, a song in my ear. I yawned and sat up. On screen, Jack was embracing a pale Rose, both of them on the Carpathia. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. What… it wasn't a dream? No, it was too real to be.

Suddenly, two shrieks echoed in my ear and Beth and Rosie tackled me, hugging me. "Oh my god, Cass, Jack's alive!" Rosie yelled. I grinned and looked at the screen. Suddenly, my smile faded.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked, studying my face. I began to cry, large tears rolling down my face. She hugged me as I sobbed.

"I saved him, but I can never be with him. Never. We're in different time periods, different…" I sobbed harder.

My life was gone. My love was gone.

**And yes, I am ending on a sad note. **

**But wait! Jack lived! How am I making it a tragedy? Well, you're right. I guess I just love Jack too much for that to happen to Cass and Jack. So, epilogue.**

Epilogue

Cass's POV

I wasn't separated from Jack, however. No way. I thought I was, but I guess fate isn't that cruel. Every night, I would go to sleep and promptly wake up as Rose in a new day. We got twelve hours together, as it seemed eight hours was twelve in dream time. I went to bed at nine per usual, and woke up at five for school. I feel asleep at nine no matter what (annoying at sleepovers and during movies, yes) and always woke up at five. I was never fatigued (a major plus) in either of my lives. I lived my normal life as a fourteen year old, normally, but I never dated, because in my other life, I was married. When I was awake in either world, I was asleep in the other. It worked out. And I was happy.

**I'm done! Yay, happy note! Signing off, bye! I'll get working on another story and put in my profile what it is when I start it. My sister is bugging me to get off now, though, so bye!**


End file.
